Karkat, Are You Doing Okay?
by ZanyZ
Summary: Based on the song Kristy, Are You Doing Okay? by The Offspring. T for sensitive topics later and swearing. Back from the dead to bring you a Human!Stuck KatNep story! I hope you like it, my Grand Return!
1. There's a Moment in Time

We were just kids, living in the same neighborhood, same street, same road. I went to his house to play all the time. He was a sweet, if not withdrawn and shy kid. We would play with dolls, he loved it. They always had the most romantic love story and got married while all the other dolls watched. That was when we were about three or so. We have been friends since we were babies, because our parents both had a spouse die in the war, and they were in support group together, and left us with the same sitter. I never knew my daddy, He never knew his mommy.

I went to his house every Saturday, and we would play dolls, watch cartoons, maybe take a nap. We were so close, nothing could separate us. Soon, we started going to each other's house just about every day. We loved playing together, and our parents were great friends, and were there for each other when they needed help, such as on their anniversary, or their dead spouses' birthday.

"Hey, Karkat, I'm sleepy... can we take a nap?" I said one day when we were four.

"Sure, I'm kinda sleepy too.."

We climbed into his bed, where we always napped, and snuggled close to keep warm, because we both tend to get cold when we sleep. Just before he fell asleep, he put is mouth on my forehead gently and kissed it. I looked at him, kinda confused.

"Daddy says that you kiss people before they sleep, and the bad dreams go away. You said earlier that you keep having scary dreams, so I made them go away." He said, smiling. I smiled back and kissed his forehead in return.

"There. No more bad dreams for you either!" I said, and curled up, and fell asleep. And he was right. I didn't have any bad dreams.

About a week later, we had been doing that every time we took a nap. Our parents thought it was cute, and let us keep doing it. But then, in the middle of the night, The doorbell rang, and when I got to the stairs to see who was here so late, I saw mommy close the door, and Karkat crying. I ran down and hugged him tight and looked at him. Mommy sat us down at the table, and explained that Karkat saw his daddy pass out, and start thrashing around. He did the right thing by calling 9-1-1, and now he had to stay here for a few nights while his dad was in the hospital. I felt bad, and went to the fridge, and gave him my last juice box. He nodded and took it, and mommy opened it for him. He was still crying and shaking, so she put on a Disney movie for us, and let us snuggle with her on the couch until we fell asleep, and Karkat was okay. He fell asleep before I did, and just before I fell asleep, I leaned over, kissed his cheek, and whispered, 'no more bad dreams', then snuggled up to mommy, and fell fast asleep.

The next day, we awoke in my bed, and he had stolen the blankets from me. I didn't blame him, and just laid next to him until he was awake. He looked around, kinda confused, then remembered the night before, and his face fell. I hugged him tight, and he hugged me back, sniffling a bit.

"Hey, don't cry...lets go eat some food, okay? Then maybe we can go see your daddy!" I encouraged, and he smiled a little bit.

"Okay, that sounds good..." he said, getting up. I stopped him, grabbed my blanket, and tied it around his neck like a cape.

"You get a cape because you are super hero for saving your daddy!" I said, and he smiled and laughed a little.

" I suppose I am..." He said, before racing me down to the kitchen for breakfast.

His daddy was let out a few days later, and was safe to come home. Karkat hugged him tight and didn't let go until he got home. We all went to his house and had lunch to celebrate him coming home. Karkat and I watched cartoons for a bit while my mom talked to his dad. It was a great night, and it even turned in to a sleepover for me and Karkat. His daddy told him again how brave and smart he was for calling 9-1-1, and Karkat beamed, hugging his daddy. He was glad to make his daddy proud.

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A/N Well, I'm back from the dead! I will try to update as much as i can, and hopefully that will be often, because I really like this story i have planned! If you know the song well, you might know where this is going. If not, i hope you enjoy, and you stay on the edge of your seats with excitement!


	2. And it's Stuck in my Mind

In the fall, Kindergarten started for us both. On the first day, our parents brought us together. I stayed by his side, as I was very nervous, and we both stayed in the drawing corner. I sat close to him, and hid behind him when people would sit close to us. I held his hand for a while, and I calmed a bit. I hyperventilated a little a few times, but Karkat was there to help me calm it down.

The teacher announced that it was nap time, and we all grabbed our sleeping mats. I laid mine next to Karkat's, and we laid down facing each other. We kissed away our bad dreams, and held each other while we slept. Too soon, the lights were turned back on, and it was time for reading. We were each given a copy of the book the teacher read to us, then we would read it back to her. Then she gave us a reading test to see how well we could read, and Karkat ended up getting a better score than me, but that was okay. We both still scored pretty high. Then the school went on like normal the rest of the day, then my mom picked us both up.

Most days went like that, us together in a corner, by ourselves, him calming me when the other kids made me anxious, me helping him with anything he needed. We were inseparable, though the teacher saw this as a problem, and called home. Our parents explained this was okay, we were always together, and both of us had some social anxiety. The teacher wanted to try to get us to socialize, but the first time we tried, I cried and had an anxiety attack, and had to go home, and Karkat was quiet the rest of the day.

Then, one day, Karkat was home sick. I was alone, all by myself. I was close to having another anxiety attack, when the teacher introduced me to the new boy, Equius. He was short, shy, but the thing that stuck out most about him was the fact that his shoulders weren't even. He explained his spine was curved, and so he couldn't stand right. He looked down, and I walked over and hugged him. He stiffened, and hugged back, and neither of us said anything. We sat in the reading corner, and he read to me about horses. He seemed to understand I didn't want to talk, and he was very nice and understanding about my anxiety. He didn't make me talk or do anything uncomfortable to me, and after a bit, I eased up, and began answering his questions. Kids made fun of the fact he couldn't stand right, and I just lead him away, and taught him how to ignore him, and eventually, they stopped.

The next day is when Karkat came back. I introduced him to Equius, and he kinda stared at him, then at me. I explained that he helped me with the anxiety yesterday, and Karkat seemed to relax.

"Anyone who helps Nepeta must be a really good friend... maybe we can be friends soon too?" he asked. Equius just nodded and gave him a small smile.

We went to the drawing corner, and each drew each other something. I drew Equius riding a horse, and Karkat feeding his crab. Karkat drew me as a cat, and drew a picture of all three of us as friends and gave it to Equius. Equius gave me a picture of a cat and a horse being friends, and Karkat a picture of his favorite horse.

"Dude, whats with your thing about horses?" Karkat said, looking at him.

"Well...when I was a baby, my dad raised horses, and he would go to the stables every day to tend to them. One day, he fell and broke his leg and hit his head, and we had no idea. Then, a horse came running up to the house, and whinnied loudly, until my mother got up on his back, and roe him to where my dad was, and she called the doctor, and he was okay. The horses saved my dad, and I've loved them ever since." He explained. It was the most I'd heard him say. I gave him a gentle pat on the head, and he smiled a bit.

When our parents came to pick us up, we asked if Equius could come play with us today. Our parents looked at each other, and shrugged and said sure. He rode home with me, and we went to Karkat's house. We played pretend, and I was a fierce huntress, Equius was an archer, and Karkat was a rebel leader. We ran around outside, hunting bad guys, and making things right. Then, maybe an hour later, we got tired, and went inside for a nap. Karkat and I did our bad-dream-banishment, but before we went to sleep, I went over, and did it to Equius too. He was kind of shocked when I kissed him, then I explained it made bad dreams go away, and he smiled a little and hugged me, then went to sleep. I crawled up next to Karkat, and fell asleep.

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A/N Wow, I got up this morning, and read all the positive reviews, I just finished what I wrote yesterday, and decided to upload it! Gosh, all the reviews were so nice, I nearly cried, thank you all so much! I will try to upload as much as possible, and I'm really pumped for this story, so it should be often!


	3. Way Back, When We Were Just Kids

Things were the same for a while year. Then, in second grade, Sollux came along. Can't say I liked him very much, but Karkat thought he was pretty cool, so I pushed that away, and played with him. There was nothing _wrong _him, to say, he was pretty cool, always shared his food he didn't eat at lunch and snack time, taught us hoe to play Pokemon, and was patient when we didn't get it at first. He was hyperactive, but he said his mom told him it was ADHD, so he couldn't help it. Even though he was so nice and cool, I had a bad feeling about him. I didn't want to say anything, so I just didn't say anything. I forgot the feeling most of the time, and just hung out with him.

We all went to each others house, and had sleepovers every Friday night. We switched who's house every week.

Sollux's house was very clean, and his dad was always cleaning, and was a pretty good cook. Though his older brother had Autism, and had a fit sometimes. He was pretty cool otherwise, though. He taught me how to skateboard, and told me he would get me one some day.

Equius' house was very strange. They had a workout room full of exercise equipment, and his dad was always giving us milk. His brother had some cool inventions, and he would explain them to us pretty simply while he was working on them in his basement. Equius loved it, and soon, he began working on things of his own.

Karkat's house was awesome as always. We were free to watch cartoons, and his dad was amazing at cooking. His brother kept to himself, but that wasn't unusual. Everything at his house was great. Until his dad met the new lady. _Kristy. _Karkat didn't like he because she yelled a lot, and got angry easily, but never around his dad. And the his dad would say he's over reacting to her, and not believe him when he said so.

My house was the same as always. Pretty quiet, as we communicated by ASL most of the time because of my sister. She was deaf from birth, though tried to speak sometimes. It didn't sound right, but she did try. My friends were pretty courteous about it, and tried to help as much as they could. My mom was wonderful, and always ordered us pizza. My cats would rub against their legs when they got here, and my friends loved it.

Sleepovers were our favorite thing. We watched cartoons, played pretend, board games, and ate as much as we could. They were our regular thing for about six months. Then, what happened, was what my mom called a phase. Sollux and Karkat decided girls were gross, and pulled away from me and Equius. I couldn't go to his house, he wouldn't talk to me. I couldn't approach him in school, he looked the other way.

Equius would hug me when he saw this happen, and tell me it was okay. Karkat was just being a big old meanie. He would sit with me at recess and read to me. He invited me over to his house all the time, so I wouldn't feel alone. He was the second greatest friend I had ever had, and at the rate Karkat was ignoring me, it would seem Equius was about to beat him for first. I went half of second grade and the summer after without him. Our parents still talked, and his dad said Karkat seemed miserable without his Nepeta, and hoped he pulled out of the phase soon. He said Sollux seemed to influence him about this, and he could only hope it was over soon.

During the summer, Equius and I grew about as close as Karkat and I had been. He took me to his dad's ranch, and we rode horses. I became a pretty good rider, and we raced each other down the path near his house, his dad not far behind us. We had sleepovers. We saw movies. We had a great time, though I still deeply missed Karkat. He was the one I knew since I was a baby. Equius told me it was okay, and if he was gonna come around, it will happen. And it did.

When we got back to school for third grade, he walked up to me, hugged me, and apologised. I was shocked for a moment, and hugged him back, happy to have my closest friend back. But as the year went on, it was clear he wasn't fully back. He was more shy and withdrawn. He didn't speak as much. He just seemed... different.

Sollux came around a little after Karkat did, and apologised for pulling him away. I accepted, but I still wasn't fully okay with him. Equius didn't really like Karkat as much after that, either, though he put up with it for me. We were all back together, though we had changed some, and things never seemed the same.


	4. Cause Your Eyes Told The Tale

By the time we got to Sixth Grade, Karkat's dad had married Kristy. I got to be flower girl in their wedding, and Karkat was Ring Bearer. He still didn't like her. He became angrier as time went on, and was always grouch. He was different than as a kid. He loved his friends, but got angry easier, and was insecure. He started wearing this sweater, and rarely wore anything else, even in summer. We were still pretty good friends though. We didn't have sleepovers nearly as often, but we had been having them since we were kids, so we were still aloud to have them. I got to the point where I just walked into Karkat's house with no knocking, and the family just accepted it.

One day, I went over, and I walked in, and heard a shout, then the sound of skin hitting skin. At first I thought I walking in on something very private, but then I saw Karkat run past the stairs from his parent's room to his. He was holding his cheek, and looked like he was crying. My heart pounded, and I silently went back out. I went back home, told my mom no one was there, and went up to my room. I managed to convince myself it wasn't what I thought, and never brought it up.

Karkat wasn't at school the next day, and I felt the pang of worry in my stomach. I collected his homework, acted like normal, like nothing was wrong, because nothing _was _wrong...right? Anyways, I brought him his homework, and he thanked me, and just as I turned to leave, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. My heart fluttered, and my stomach developed butterflies. _What?_

He asked me to sit on the bed with him, and help him with his homework. I nodded, and explained it to him, helping him work through it. When it was done, he yawned, and laid down, and said he was going to sleep. I kissed his forehead and told him no more bad dreams, and he smiled slightly, and fell asleep. His mom walked in, and smiled at me, and walked me out.

"Thank you for bringing his homework. He needs to stay caught up. He should be back at school tomorrow, though!" She said. She watched me walk to my house, and made sure I got home safe, then went back inside.

I went up to my room, and saw my laptop on the bed. I opened it up, and saw Equius messaged me.

CT: D- nepeta

CT: D-i was wondering if you would like to accompany this weekend on this new trail my father and I found while horseback riding.

CT: D- nepeta?

CT: D- are you there?

AC: :33 yes, silly, I'm here. I was bringing Karkat is homework!

CT: D- I see.

AC: :33 and yes, my mom said it was purrfectly fine to go with you!

CT: D- e%cellent. See you tomorrow, then.

AC: :33 and... equius?

CT: D- yes?

AC: :33 please pick me up in a car this time... I still get anxiety, and being picked up horseback near the highway doesn't exactly help...

CT D- understood, nepeta.

AC: :33

I logged off, and went to my bag to pull out my notepad I use to write notes in, and my journal. I pulled out the notepad, but couldn't find the journal. I panicked, and realised I had left it at Karkat's house. I jumped up, grabbed the notebook, and ran over. I walked in, going up to his room, and knocked softly on the door, poking my head in.

"Hey..Karkat? I think I gave you the wrong notebook... " I said, walking to the side of his bed. He was still asleep. I saw it on his desk, and grabbed it, and replaced it with the right notebook. I was about to go, when I stopped, and left a note.

_Karkat-_

_*ac giggles at her silly self, because she gave you the wrong notebook! She replaced this one with the wrong one, and hopes you feel better soon! Also, she furrgot to remind you, we have a quiz on this tomorrow. Study up, and feel better!*_

_-Nepeta~3_

I giggled and snuck out, and as I did, I heard him whisper something in his sleep. I stopped for a moment, and listened.

"No... don't, stop, im sorry...please..." was what he was murmuring, a troubled look on his sleeping face. I slowly closed the door, and let myself out, no one noticing I was even there. It happens sometimes. On the short walk home, I thought about it. It could not have been a coincidence with what I saw yesterday...could it? No, silly me, it was just a nightmare! Those happen, I'm sure it was nothing...

I got into my room, and opened up my journal, and pulled out my ukulele. I played through the song I wrote for Guitar Night at the cafe down the street, then pulled up the tab for the song I was now learning, _I Will Follow You Into the Dark _by Death Cab for a Cutie. My sister was the only one home, so I got to be as loud as I wanted. I was playing for a while, when Karkat suddenly appeared in my doorway.

"You even roleplay in your stupid ass notes? Fucking pathetic." He said with a small smirk. I grinned and got up and hugged him.

"Hey! You feeling better?"

"Eh, been better, been worse. I wanted to hang out with you. I haven't been here in ages, man. You still play your ukulele?"

"Yes! Actually, this is a newer one. The old one was like a practice one. This is the real deal. I named her Espi."

"...You named your goddamn Ukulele?"

"Well...no... all objects have their own personality, you see! And people have auras that tell me what their personality is like, and their names are colored, so I can see if their name matches their personality. You name is a bright red, but your aura is grey. Isn't It like that for you?"

"...No... I've never experienced anything like that. How long have you seen all...that?"

"My whole life."

"Uh..huh.. that's actually kinda cool." He sat on the edge of the bed next to me, and laid back so his head was in my lap. "What about our other friends?"

"Well, Sollux's name is bright yellow, and has a clashing personality, so it looks like its a red vs. blue type personality going on around him. Equius has a deep, royal blue name, and a similar colored aura. Usually, families have similar colored auras, but the only huge difference I see, is with Kristy. Hers is a vile milky yellow and green mixture that's so bright, and it kinda clashes with your dad's color." I told him, pawing at his hair and scrunching up my nose. He purred softly and smiled a little, but frowned at the name Kristy.

"Damn. Does that ever get in the way?"

"All the time. Though its pretty moderate, but stronger than say, third grade."

"that's really cool, Nepeta."

"Also, reading can be a bitch. That's why I stop, put my book down in silent reading, and hold my head, because it hurts my head so bad."

"Oh. I'm sorry.."

"No, it's okay!"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure!" I said. We sat in silence for a bit, me playing with his hair, him softly purring. I thought he had fallen asleep, when he sat up and sighed.

"Well, I better get to my house for dinner. See you at school tomorrow, Nepeta. No more bad dreams." He said, kissing my cheek and leaving. There were those butterflies again. Oh dear.

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A/N There was supposed to be a few more than/less than signs in this chapter, but apparently, does not like that, so.

It's in the chatlog, the last message nep sends is the moirail thing, and the end of nepeta's not has a heart. Hop that cleared it up!


	5. Of an Act of Betrayal

The next day at school, We all sat in the library before school like we usually did. However, this morning, I had woken up with a headache, and that was never good, because it made my synesthesia stronger, and that meant Sensory Overload. I managed to push away the pain today, but the synesthesia (I looked up the word the night before) was persistent.

It wasn't so bad in first period health, just minor irritation from the disgustingly bright pink teacher. She wrote a lot of words, causing a rainbow hodgepodge of colors to appear on the board, and I couldn't even look at it for too long.

Then second period, I was a library helper, and almost no one was there, so my head got a break from the auras, but not the words. I had to go under the desk and draw for the whole period, and the librarian didn't mind. Second period was her slowest period, anyway.

Third period, was math. Nothing there, just a bunch of rowdy red auras. Few words appeared, as it was a worksheet (thank god), so I just did my work in peace.

Fourth period world studies made it worse. So many dull grey, blue, and red words clouded my mind, and I was about to cry.

Fifth period was lunch. I had that with Karkat and Equius. Equius already knew about my synesthesia, and he and Karkat were talking about it when I sat down. They both gave me a nod, and asked how I was. I just groaned, and laid my head down. One of them put their hand on my back, and Equius asked what was wrong.

"Headache..." I managed. I sat up, and looked around. All the colors started clashing together, and there were so many.. words being spoken everywhere, turning the cafeteria into potluck of horrible color clashes. I covered my ears and closed my eyes to drown it all out, but that did nothing.

Both Karkat and Equius had scooted closer, and Equius pried one hand off my ear to ask if I was okay. I looked at him as tears sprang into my eyes, and just told him to get me the hell out of there.

Equius picked me up, and Karkat grabbed all our stuff, and they rushed me down to the nurse's office. I kept my ears covered and my eyes closed, and they both stayed there the rest of their lunch period, trying to help me calm down. They didn't say anything, and stayed behind me, Karkat rubbing my back, and Equius stroking my hair. This helped me calm down enough to manage to ask the nurse to call my mom to come get me. She nodded sympathetically and called my mom. I sat up and reached for Karkat to hug him, and held him for a moment, then moved over and held Equius for a moment. I laid back down and faced them, and held each of their hands, Equius still playing with my hair.

The nurse called and said my mom would be at the school shortly to pick me up, and Karkat got up and went to my locker to get my things. When he came back, he laid my jacket over me, and pat my shoulder. When my mom got here, Karkat walked me to the door, promised he'd check on me after school, and watched me get into the car. I laid down in the back and put my jacket over my head until I got home. I went up to my room, turned off the lights, closed the blinds, and fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later to my mom gently shaking me, saying Karkat was here. I sat up groggily, and looked at him, and smiled. He hugged me, and I could almost feel his warm grey aura surround me in the most comforting way. He sat next to me, and signed to me. He had picked some up over the years, as that's the main way we spoke around Meulin. I told him it was okay to talk, and he nodded.

"Equius, Sollux, and I have all been worried about you... are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm cool... sleeping usually takes the edge off sensory overload. I'm okay talking to one person at a time right now, I think..."

"Well, good...Sollux and Equius are downstairs, we all agreed to ride the bus to your house today after school, and decided to go up one at a time to be sure you were okay. We're worried about you."

"You guys are the sweetest...thank you..." I smiled and sat up and pulled him into a tight hug. He tensed slightly as I moved to hug him, then relaxed and wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my face into his shoulder, and he rubbed my back, sighing slightly. We sat like that for a while, and then pulled away, both us us flushing quite a bit.

"Well, I better send Equius in now... I've probably been here longer than I should have.. but i'll see if I can stay for dinner, and maybe spend the night to be sure you're okay..?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool.. thanks..." I said as he walked off. He hesitated at the door, like he wanted to say something, then shook his head, and left.

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A/N I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this. In just four days, it's gotten almost 500 views, and is doing the best out of any of my other stories on .

I want my next goal to be 1,000. If I can get my story to 1,000 views, i will have a prize for readers. I don't know what just yet, but it will be good! Thank you all, and thank you for reading!


	6. I Knew that Somebody Did

Equius came in, and hugged me gently, though still pretty tightly. I should explain. As I mentioned earlier, Equius' back isn't even. He has Scoliosis, and it's pretty hard on his back, and one way to keep his back from giving out was to build up muscle. He had to build up a lot of muscle, however, so now, he was very strong, and couldn't control it as well as he would have liked to.

Equius hugged me for a moment, then let go, and held my hand. He looked so concerned, it nearly broke my heart. I wish there was a way to convince him I was okay, but knowing him, he'd have to see it to believe it.

"Nepeta, why didn't you tell me you felt bad? I could have helped in some way, or kept you home..."

"Equius, it's okay. I actually go through sensory overload a lot, it's mostly internal. That was just a bad attack, and it may take a few days to recover fully, but right now, I'm fine. Okay?" I gave him a mall smile, but he didn't seem convinced. I sighed and hugged him again, and pet his hair. "Want me to play with your hair?"

"Nepeta please... but yes." I giggled, and had him sit in front of me, and gave him a braid in his hair, while he vented out all the reasons he felt bad for the S.O.. Then we switched, and he played with my hair, while I told him it was fine, and I was okay, and promised I would still go horse-back riding with him this weekend. He seemed to relax after that, and we hugged it out for a bit, and he sang to me. Then, it was Sollux's turn. I held out my fingers in a sideways peace sign, and Equius did the same, and we toughed our fingers together to make a sideways diamond. It was our secret handshake.

Equius left, and Sollux was sent in. He just kinda sauntered in, and closed the door behind him, then ran up to me and hugged me.

"Thank god you're okay... Dammit, when KK told me what happened to you, he made it sound like you went to the HOSPITAL or some shit!" He let go of me, and sat next to me. "Though, now I know it was just sensory overload, I'm feeling better, know you'll be okay soon."

"...How do you know that?"

"Well, Mituna, he's Autistic, you know? He goes into S.O. A lot, and it usually takes him a few hours to sleep after, and depending on how bad it was, a few hours to a few days to recover. But, knowing you, you should be fine by tomorrow night at the latest." He said, ruffling my hair. I giggled and punched his arm lightly. "you come to me if you get S.O again, okay? Me and my dad are excellent at helping it calm down, and turning recovery into a breeze."

"Thanks, Sollux. You're being pretty cool about this. The other guys were all over me with concern, but it is nice to have someone understand what happens AFTER Sensory Overload." I said, laying back down and facing the ceiling. The nice, blank, white ceiling. It was calming to see nothing but white, even for a moment in the silence. Sollux pulled up my desk chair, sat in it, and leaned back, keeping the silence. He hummed softly, and reached out, and held my hand, rubbing little circles on it. I looked at him, confused and he just smirked.

"This is how we help 'Tuna. He loves having his hand held, and he says rubbing circles on his hand is relaxing. I can stop if you want."

"No...no, Mituna's right, it's pretty relaxing, thanks..." He nodded, and looked around my room.

"I like your room... you decorate it yourself?"

"Yeah, mom got me paint, and told me to do it however I wanted, so I made it into what my favorite song looks like. The words, I mean. Turned out pretty nice."

"Yeah, really, it did. What song?"

"Welcome to the Black Parade."

"Nice."

We sat in silence after that. After a while, he stood, patted me on the head, and told me to feel better soon. I smiled, waved, and watched him walk out. Ever since what happened in second grade, I had honestly been pretty wary of him. But now, he didn't seem so bad.


	7. Oh, Waves of Time

My mom let Karkat stay the night that night. When Sollux and Equius left, Karkat came upstairs and sat on my bed. He had called his dad already, so he was fine with it. He laid down next to me and sighed. I looked at him, and he just stared up at the ceiling, seeming to be deep in thought. I put my hand on his, and he held mine, and we both just stared up at the ceiling, thinking to ourselves. I had no idea what he was thinking about, but I was thinking about a lot of things.

One thing I thought about was guitar night. That was Thursday, and it was only Tuesday, but I just couldn't wait. I had written a song for it, and was gonna play Follow You Into The Dark as well. I wanted Karkat to be there, because it was my first night there, but I was scared to ask him. For what reason, I didn't know. I guess I was afraid I'd make a fool of myself in front of him. What if I forgot the chords? That would suck major ass if it did happen. My grip on his hand tightened slightly, and he squeezed my hand, and that relaxed me.

I also thought about my friends. Like...they all came to my house because they were concerned for me. I really love all my friends. Even Sollux, though we were never that close. Equius was so close to me, and I was really his only close friend. Outside our small circle, he had no other friends. Karkat had Gamzee and Kanaya, Sollux had Aradia and Eridan, I had Feferi and Terezi... Equius had no one else. I felt so bad, and I just loved the little guy so much, but in the most platonic way possible. Sollux was pretty cool, especially after today, and he's good to vent to, and go to for computer trouble, but that's about it. Karkat.. I could go on for years about him. He was so wonderful, and kind to his friends, and yeah, he's an asshole, but he's our asshole, and we wouldn't take anyone else in his place. To me, he's what kept this group together.

I looked over at him, and his eyes were closed, and he looked like he was asleep, until he turned to look at me. I smiled at him, and he smiled back and squeezed his hand before letting it go. He sat up, stretched, and sighed.

"Wanna go for a walk? The park's pretty empty this time of day, and the nature trail should help your senses calm down... Don't think it's weird, but I looked up sensory overload when I wasn't with you, so I could help you recover.."

"Aww, Karkat, that's so sweet! Yeah, that sounds nice, but let me bring my hoodie, so I can cover my head if need be."

"Sure, what ever the fuck helps. Don't you dare squeak a word to anyone or so help me Nepeta, I will-"

"Sure you will. Now come on, Karkat, let's go before it gets too dark!" I said, getting up and grabbing my hoodie. I put it on, and walked over to him, stuffing my hands in my pocket.

"I- fine. Okay, let's go." He said, looking down at me and ruffling my hair. I scrunching up my nose at him. I'm about a foot shorter than him, what with me being super short (four foot six! Ugh), and him being tall ( five foot nine). I poked his stomach, and giggled, then walked out with him.

"Mom, we're going for a walk, be back before it gets too dark!"

"Okay, Darling. Stay safe!" Mom called back from the kitchen.

We walked out the door and to the park a few blocks from my house. The park was pretty empty, as Karkat said, so we went straight to the nature trail. He hummed softly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I looked at him, and I smiled.

Karkat was pretty handsome. He had dark brown eyes, messy brown hair, tan skin, and and a neutral expression on his face at all times. His voice was kinda deep, though not the post-puberty kind of deep. His frame was deceiving. He was one of those guys that looked skinny and weak, but could beat pretty much anyone at arm wrestling. He looked ahead of him, not noticing me staring. I looked back in front of me and sighed a bit. My breath could almost be seen in a little puff of air, it was pretty chilly. I shivered lightly, and Karkat must have noticed, because he put his arm around me. I walked closer to him, wrapping my arm around his waist.

We made it to the end of the trail, and we walked over to the swingset and sat in swings next to each other. I looked at him, and smiled.

"It's been a while since we had a sleepover, just you and me, huh?"

"Yeah, and under some pretty shitty conditions, too."

"Karkat, I'm fine, don't worry."

"You nearly passed out in front of half the god damn school! And you say you're 'okay'" He scoffed, looking down. I sighed, and looked down.

"I'm sorry I scared you..."

"It's fine..."

"Are you sure..?  
"Yeah."

"Okay.."

"... Hey, I'm just really worried about you, okay? You're my best friend, and you nearly passed out in front of half the goddamn school, and I had no idea why. Do you know how goddamn scary that was?"

"Yeah... I know, it was no joyride for me either... but i'll get over it, okay? I always do."

"Okay..." And then there was silence for a bit.

"...Remember when we were kids, and we used to play with dolls? And we made them fall in love and get married?"

"Yeah.. what about it?"

"I dunno, I was thinking about it.. Remember when Ms. Sally and Ms. Andrews got married, and out parents flipped a tit, and we were so confused as to why?"

"Yeah, that was pretty funny...what about it?"

"I dunno... I've been thinking about us as kids a lot recently... things sure have changed, huh?"

"Yeah, they really have..."

"The earliest thing I remember is when we were little kids, really little, and you said you had been having bad dreams, and that's the first time I kissed away your bad dreams... And then we just..never stopped doing that... and I remember that time we got in trouble because we were bored, and my dad fell asleep, so we decided it would be a good idea to have a water gun fight... in the living room. My dad was so mad..." He said, smiling the slightest bit.

"We've been through a lot together, you know that? And we can go through more. You're my best friend, and I'm not letting you go, okay?"

"Yeah, I know... I'm not letting you go, either! Because, well... I love you, in the most platonic way, you know that?" He said, his face flushing a bit. I laughed slightly and smiled.

"I love you platonically too. Now, come on. We gotta get home before it gets too dark."

Karkat nodded and took my hand, walking me back to the house. When we got inside, mom called us in for dinner, and we sat next to each other, eating happily. We don't see moments like these very often anymore, but I'm glad this one happened.


	8. Seem to Wash Away

That night, Karkat helped me with my homework, and then we went to sleep. We followed our routine we always did when we fell asleep together, and snuggled each other as we slept. When I woke up, Karkat was up, and getting dressed. He was putting on his shirt, when I noticed a huge ass bruise on his side.

"Karkat, what happened?" He seemed to jump, and look at me in surprise.

"Wh-what?"

"That bruise on your side.. how did hat get there?" I asked, sitting up.

"Oh... well, I was running from one of my brother's lectures, and ran into a counter, the the edge, No biggie." He said, wrapping his arms around his waist. I nodded, and laid back down, and sighed.

"Oh no, Nepeta, you are NOT going back to sleep. Come on, get up, and we can walk to school together, okay?"

"Okay, okay, okay, let me take a shower..." I said, getting up, yawning, and throwing the covers off me.

I stayed in the shower for about ten minutes before Karkat came and knocked on the door, telling me to hurry up. I sighed, finished up, and came out, dried my hair, and finished getting ready. I walked out, and Karkat was sitting on my bed, reading something. I walked over, and to my horror, it was my journal.

"Wh-what are you doing reading that? That's my _personal _journal!" I said, snatching it up, face glowing red. He looked up at me in surprise, blushing hard.

"N-nepeta. No, that's not- I thought it was the one with all the notes in it, then I saw you had written something, and I just- im sorry..." He said, all flustered and embarrassed, kind of recoiling away from me, as if he was scared I would hit him.

"...Well, this is my personal journal, and I would prefer you not look in it again, okay? I've written a lot of personal stuff in there, and I dont want anyone reading it..." I said, shoving it in my bag. He nodded, and looked down, and sighed.

"I'm sorry..." He said, looking down. I just shook my head, and went over and hugged him. He flinched as I approached, but relaxed when I wrapped my arms around him.

"Just leave this one alone, okay?"

"Okay.."

When we got to school, I had to catch up in all my afternoon classes, which happened to be Science, then English, Then Colorguard. The only class I had with any of my friends after lunch was last period, because Sollux is in band, and Karkat is in color guard with me. He's actually very, very good.

In sixth period, Feferi helped catch me up in science. Feferi was my lab partner, and she was very pretty. She had tea colored skin, and deep, sea blue eyes, and she always wore a bright pink hijab. She was the sweetest girl you would ever meet, with a bubbly personality, and an adorable laugh. She was pretty fun to talk to, and sometimes she sat with us at lunch, though that attracted the unwanted of the school's asshole, Eridan. He was her adoptive brother, and was very clingy to her. No one really liked him, but we put up with him most of the time.

So, she helped catch me up on the different types of rocks, and then, when I was all caught up, gave me the notes so we could 'study'. Today was a study day, and the teacher wasn't really paying attention, just told us to study with our lab partners. It was always the day before the test, but most kids used the period to talk, but a few did study.

"So, Nepeta? What happened yesterday?"

"Well...do you know what sensory overload is?"

"No.."

"Well, basically, I was just overwhelmed, and I couldn't stand being in school, and I had to leave, because it was a breakdown of sorts."

"Oh, im sorry.."

"Eh, it's okay, im fine now, so."

"Well, that's good! So how's color guard?"

"It's going pretty well! We have a competition in a few days, and we're working hard!"

"I was surprised when Karkat made the team, but then I saw him on the field, and I was surprised at how well he fit in! He's so...balanced, and graceful! I honestly did not expect that."

"Well, he tends to surprise you! He also comes over to practice with me all the time, so im not surprised. He's actually pretty great once you get to know him. Though, I guess im biased, I've known him my whole life!"

"Heh, you two are so cute.."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I talked to him the other day, and you came up, and he kept going on, and on about you! And you say nothing but good things about him, though you DO acknowledge the fact that he has his faults at the same time."

"Really...?"

"Yeah!" I smiled a little, and looked down, which cause Feferi to giggle. "Ohhhh, you like him!"

"Maybe... who knows?" I said, though I blushed hard. Feferi just laughed.

English was quieter, as half of it was silent reading, and the other half was a test. My head started to throb by the end of the period, but it wasn't too bad. I was too pumped for colour guard to care.

Colour guard was my favorite part of the day. We got to twirl the flag, dance around, and we were like a big huge family! Though, because this was middle school, we only learned basic stuff, and only went to competitions. No football games yet, that's for highschoolers.

When I got there, I changed into my guard clothes, grabbed my flag, and ran out to the field behind the school where practice was held. Karkat was just getting there as well, and he sat down a bit a ways from me so we could stretch. When the bell rang, the captain and co-captain immediately started the stretching routine. When that was done, we worked with our flag. We had a few tosses, some spins, a few twirls, and a lot of dancing. By the end, we all were sweating, and ready to change and go home. Our coach told us to practice, because the competition was next weekend. We all nodded, and went off to change.

When Karkat and I left our respective locker rooms, we met up, and waited in the gym for the bell to ring, then began the walk home together. We chatted idly, joking a bit, all that jazz. When we got near Karkat's house, he began to look nervous.

"Hey, can you come over and hang out today? I wanna work on our routine.."

"Oh, sure! That's fine let me go tell my-"

"Er, can't you just call her?"

"Oh, uhmmm...okay!" Strange, but I called my mom and told her, and told Karkat it was okay. We went inside, set our stuff down, and Karkat called out to Kristy.

"Kristy, I'm home, and Nepeta's here to practice with me in the backyard!"

"Okay, have fun!" She called back after a moment.

When we got to the back yard, we practiced for about an hour, then went inside for a break. We got some water, and sat at the island for a bit.

"Hey...karkat?"

"What's up?"

"Well..my guitar night is tomorrow..so I was wondering.. could you come?" I asked nervously

"Nepeta, I would love to. I'll be there, okay? Come pick me up on your way there!" He said, putting his hand on my shoulder, smiling a little. I smiled wide, and hugged him, and held him tight.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you! Just... even if I make a fool of myself.. will you cheer me on?"

"Nepeta, there is no way in hell you can mess this up. I've heard you play, you're amazing!"

"Thanks, Karkat.." I said, blushing the slightest bit. We went out and practiced a bit, then I had to go home for dinner. Even though the late evening was freezing, I felt warm the whole time after the conversation.

* * *

I'm sorry this is so late, I've been dealing with depression for a while now. When I started this story, it was doing better, but last night, I just got hit really hard with it. I considered not even uploading because I hadn't even written anything last night, but I did make a promise to upload every day, so here I am! Hopefully, this will pass soon, and I'll be writing faster, and less bull-shitty. Enjoy, and please forgive my lateness!


	9. The Scenes of Our Crimes

The next day when Karkat got to school, he had a black eye. When I saw him that morning in the library, I literally dropped everything and ran up to him. I stared at him, and took his face in my hands in total disbelief. I ran my thumb under the black eye, and he winced.

"Sorry, sorry.. Oh, my _god _Karkat, what happened to you?"

"I.. I got mugged on the way here, and they kicked me around a little. I'm okay, dont worry about me.."

"Don't worry about you?! How can I not? Here, come sit down, and let me get a better look at it.. okay?" He just sighed, and nodded, following me to my seat. When he sat down, I pulled his hood off, and Equius, Sollux, and Gamzee all gasped and started questioning him. He told them the same thing he told me, and told them he was fine.

"KK, you do not look fine, we need to take you to the nurse or some shit-"

"I told you, assholes, I'm _fine_!" He snapped, leaning back in the chair. I kneeled in front of him, and examined it a little better, and sighed.

"He's right, it's just a black eye, there is nothing we can really do, except maybe let it heal. I could get Kanaya over here, see if any of hers or Rose's makeup could cover it, but otherwise, we should just leave him alone."

"..Whatever, but I don't want people seeing Kanaya slather my face with goopey makeup shit."

I nodded, and got up, and left the library to go to the bathroom, where they usually were in the mornings, touching up makeup. I walked up behind them, and tapped Kanaya's shoulder.

"I need your help."

"Oh, Nepeta! Finally, you ready to try a little makeup? Well, here, I have the perfect shade of eyeshadow, it's Green, and it would look perfect on y-"

"No, not that kind of help, i-"

"Oh! Are you looking for _that _kind of help? Do tell me dear, what is her name?"

"No- Kanaya, It's Karkat! He came to school with a black eye, and I was wondering if I could bring him in here so you could cover it up."

"Oh... why, yes, I-I might have some concealer- Bring him in. But he'll need an excuse in case other students see him leave here... How comfortable are you with him? Enough to make out a little?"

Twenty minutes later, Karkat had been dragged to the girls room, Kanaya worked her magic, and now he only looked like he hadn't slept in a week. We explained to him that we needed an excuse for him to have been in the girls room, and a common one Kanaya and Rose had seen, was couples making out. So Kanaya gave me some lipstick to put on, and then let me kiss him as much as I wanted. She and Rose promised to turn around for comfort's sake, but we still heard them giggling.

I got up on my tiptoes, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, blushing hard at being so close to him. He leaned down to make it easier for me, and he smiled nervously, wrapping his arms around my waist. We leaned in, and got really close, close enough for our foreheads to touch, and I hesitated.

"Come on, Nep, it will be fine... just.. pretend it's a _really _long kiss to make bad dreams go away..?" He said softly, giving me a reassuring smile.

"Right... we're just friends who make out a little with each other when situation calls for it, right?" I replied, giggling nervously.

"Always.." He said, before leaning in, and gently pressing his lips to mine. My stomach did a flip flop, and I closed my eyes and kissed back, pulling him closer to me like I had seen people do in movies...and how people did in fanfics. What else did people do in fanfics? Tongue? _NONONONONOOOOOO _no tongue..that's...weird.. What about- is he rubbing my back? That feels really nice... what if I just.. yeah, play with his hair a little- hello wall, nice to be pressed against you.

I felt Karkat pull away, and take a small breath, and let out a little laugh. I couldn't help but laugh as well because this was so _awkward. _I glanced at Kanaya and Rose, and they were just smirking, before I leaned in and kissed him again, because though it was awkward, it felt so _good_...and just.._right_. I never wanted the moment to end, but then the bell rang, and we had to leave. I pulled away, kissed his cheek for good measure, being sure it left a mark, and gathered my stuff. Kanaya insisted I reapply, just so everyone knew it was my lipstick, so I did, then I left.

Karkat stuffed his hands in his pockets, and as we walked out of the girl's room, he was smiling like crazy, and he looked like he won the lottery. People stared, some smirked knowingly, and a few other just gaped. My face felt hot, but that didn't matter. I only had one thought running through my head all day. _I kissed Karkat Vantas. I've fallen for Karkat Vantas. And holy mother fuck, have I fallen hard._


	10. THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER BUT PLEASE READ

I think I wanna have an art contest for cover art for "Karkat, Are You Doing Okay?"

So, if you are good at drawing, you can enter! I will end the contest at the end two weeks, or, July the 17th.*****EDIT: I'm changing the deadline to one week from now, because i just remembered that it's my last free week before band camp, which is eight hours a day for two weeks during the last two weeks of July. So, contest ends NEXT THURSDAY*****

Here is what i'm looking for:

**Nepeta playing a ukulele**

Karkat looking angsty

Karkat and Nepeta kissing

**Anything you want, as long as it goes to the story, and explain why that's the moment you chose.**

Any of those will be accepted! The winner will be chosen BY ME at the end of two weeks, as i said above. There will be 3 winners, and this is what they will get:

**FIRST PLACE**

Will be the cover art for Karkat, Are you Doing Okay

I will add you on Skype, and you can proof-read the next three chapters, meaning you get to read them before ANYONE ELSE!

I will discuss what i want the ending to be, and you can give me feedback and your reaction!

I will write a fic for you, any ship, any fandom, any characters! _** U**_ _** T. I AM UNDERAGE, AND I COULD GET IN TROUBLE FOR WRITING AND POSTING SMUT, OR IF SOMEONE ELSE UNDERAGE RADS IT AND GETS CAUGHT BY THEIR PARENTS, I COULD GET IN TROUBLE. ABSOLUTELY NO SMUT.  
**_

**SECOND PLACE**

You will be the cover art for Karkat, are You Doing Okay _**IF**_for some reason, first place does not want it.

I will add you on Skype, and you can proofread the next two chapters.

I will write you a fic, any characters, any fandom, any ship!

**THIRD PLACE**

You will be the Cover Art _**IF**_for some reason Second and First do not want it.

I will add you on skype and you can proofread the next chapter

I will write you a fic, any ship, any fandom, any characters!

Good luck to all who enter! Either you can submit it to me _**HERE**_

_**OR**_

Put it in the Tumblr tag, Karkat are you doing okay?, and i will find it!

Thank you, and again, best of luck to all who enter!


	11. And Never Goes Away

All day, I was floating on a cloud. Apparently, I had a dreamy look on my face all day, and people kept staring. The teachers had to tell me a few times to pay attention, and by the time lunch rolled around, just about the whole school knew Karkat and I had kissed. I sat down at the lunch table with Equius. He was the only one there, but he looked _mad_. I sat next to him, and pulled out my lunch, but he just sat there, arms crossed.

"Nepeta."

"Yeeesss?" I said, looking at him. I knew he was mad, but I just couldn't help but smile.

"You know. The Vantas boy?"

"Yeaahhh...that.. look, people were gonna ask questions if he was seen coming out of the girls room, so we came up with a way for it to not look weird.. by pretending we were making out...though, there wasn't much pretending involved." I said giggling. "But I swear, all we did was kiss. He didn't touch me, Rose and Kanaya were watching, they'll confirm if you need them too."

"... I trust you, Nepeta. Just... be careful, okay?" He said, sighing.

"Heehee... okay!" I began to eat some, and our friends slowly began to trickle in. Karkat came in last, and sat next to me, smiling.

"Well, now the whole school thinks we're a thing. Can you believe it?" He said, looking at me. I looked at him, and noticed her neglected to wipe off the lipstick. I smiled, and shook my head.

"Rumor weeds; bites everyone in the ass at some point."

"Nepeta, language." Equius reminded me. His family was big on the censoring type thing.

"Oh, stuff it, Equius." I said, giggling a bit.

"So tell us KK. Did you get some boob action in that bathroom?" he asked, smirking.

"What the fuck, Sollux, no! And even if I did, she would have to be okay with it, and I wouldn't tell you." Karkat spat. Sollux frowned.

"Well then what the fuck was the point?" He said, getting up and walking over to Feferi and Eridan.

"Asshole. Well, anyways...Nepeta, your Guitar Night is tonight, right?"

"Oh, yeah! I can do two songs, so I'm doing Follow You Into the Dark, and a song I wrote myself!" I said proudly. "You guys are coming... right?"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world." Karkat told me.

"Of course, Nepeta. I would love to attend." Equius said, smiling and patting me gently on the back.

We continued idly talking, and as we did, me and Karkat's hands met under the table, and we just held hands till the bell rang. Then we let go, walked off, and continued our day.

When I got home, I changed my clothes into something a little nicer, and grabbed my Ukulele, and sat on my bed to practice. Karkat came over soon after, and he sat on my desk chair across from me to listen. He smiled, and listened quietly as I played Follow You Into the Dark. Then I played the song I write, the first time anyone outside my family heard it. He smiled, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs to listen, closing his eyes, and soaking it it.

"That was beautiful, Nepeta."

"Really...? Thanks..." I said, blushing. He pulled the chair up so he was right in front of me, and smiled.

"So...about this morning..." He said, blushing and smiling more. I let out a small giggle, and looked at him.

"Yeah...?"

"...Wanna repeat what we did this morning..?" He asked, blushing bright.

"Yes!" I said, leaning in to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me back, smiling. He stroked my hair softly as we kissed, and I was embarrassed, but I started purring. He broke away and started giggling.

"Karkat, don't laugh!" I said, blushing bright.

"I can't help it, it's so cute! I thought you stopped doing that in the fourth grade..."

"I...I still do it when I get really happy..." I said, blushing bright.

"I make you happy..?"

"Well.. yeah! You always make me so happy..." I said, smiling and looking down. He put his hand under my chin and tilted my head up, smiling at me.

"You make me happy too.. and you know, I really don't mind having the whole school thinking we're together... I- well, I kinda..want it to be true..." I giggled and smiled.

"I want it to be true, too.. wanna make it so?"

"Yes. I really do." I said, leaning in to close the deal with a kiss. I am kissing Karkat Vantas. Karkat Vantas, my boyfriend.

* * *

A/N In case you didn't see yesterday, when I updated the Not-a-chapter, I moved the deadline from two weeks from now, to the end of one week, because next week is my last free week before I have Band camp, which is eight hours a day for two weeks every day except weekends. So then I will not be updating as much as I would like to. So please keep that in mind, and forgive me when, in the last two weeks of July, I only update maybe once every week. Thank you for understanding!


	12. Can You Stay Strong?

My mom drove the two of us to the cafe around 6:30. I was on at 7:00, and I was really anxious about it. Karkat reached over and held my hand, and I relaxed a little bit. We pulled into the parking lot, I checked in, and we sat at a table near the stage. My mom gave us some money, and sat in the back so she could watch, but also give us some time alone. We listened to a few really good players, one, that surprised us both, was Dave Strider, a kid who was in our grade and _immensely _popular. We never knew he was such an amazing guitar player, though, of course, his song of choice was Wonderwall by Oasis.

Soon, it was 6:55, and a stage hand came up to my table and told me to get ready. Karkat came with me backstage, and held my hand. When we were out of sight of the audience, he turned to me, and hugged me tight. "Good luck. You'll do great, know it!" He said, giving me a quick kiss. It was quick, but it filled me with an energy and warmth that gave me courage to be ready to go out there. He went to go sit down at our table, and they called my name to come on the stage. I sat on the stool, adjusted the mic, and took a deep breath.

"I'm Nepeta, and I have two songs for you tonight. This first one is by Death Cab for a Cutie, and it's called Follow You Into the Dark." I said, then began strumming the intro.

I thought each chord in my head as I strummed, then began singing. My voice was shaky at first, but I looked at Karkat, and he looked so proud, and then I looked at My mom, and she looked so excited and proud, and my sister was even there! She couldn't here, but she looked so happy, I don't think it mattered. Equius, Sollux, Gamzee, Even Feferi were there, and I felt so confident, my voice leveled out and came out stronger. When I finished, I got a round of applause, and I sighed with relief.

"And, now my next song is one I wrote myself, called Turn to Stone." I said. I began strumming, and the whole place went silent. I closed my eyes, and imagined the colors of the words blending perfectly. When it was over, The whole place applauded. I let off a small, relieved laugh, and got up to walk off stage.

"Thank you, everyone!" I said, then walked off the stage.

I sat down at my table with Karkat, and all my friends come over and congratulated and praised me. I felt so good, and so happy that everyone was there.

"Nepeta, you did excellent, if I do say so myself." Equius said, smiling.

"Thank you, Equius!" He gave me a pat on the back, and we did our secret handshake, and then his brother made him leave.

We stayed for a bit longer, and listened to the others, then me and Karkat got tired. We got in my moms car, and started to go home. Karkat sat in the middle seat, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, sighing happily.

"That was fun.." I said, slipping my hand into his. He smiled and squeezed my hand.

"You did really well, I'm proud of you!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Really." He said, smiling. I giggled softly and scooted a bit closer to him, closing my eyes.

"I'm tired.."

"Then sleep! I'll be right here, okay?" He told me, kissing the side of my head. "No more bad dreams..."

"No more bad dreams..." I murmured, falling asleep on his shoulder.

I awoke a while later in my room with Karkat next to me. I looked at him kinda confused, and he just smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Your mom saw we were asleep in the car, and called my dad and asked if she could just take us here for the night. He said yeah, and now I'm here at-" He stopped and looked at the clock next to my computer on my desk. "- 2:48 in the morning.." He said softly, smiling. He kissed my nose, and snuggled up to me, wrapping his arms around me, and pressing into his chest. I smiled placidly, wrapped my arms around his waist, and inhaling his scent each time I breathed, sighing with content. I loved being so close to him, in his warm arms, feeling do content, and placid. I didn't ever want this moment to end. He began to sing softly to me, and soon, I was out like a light, dreaming of him, dreaming of Guitar night, dreaming of our kiss, but most importantly, dreaming of us being together for a long, long time.

* * *

Hope everyone had a better Fourth of July than I did! (It won't be hard; I had anxiety all day, I fell and scraped my hands, depression came back, it was not my best day) Enjoy, and I will try to write today, but my depression is really bad right now, so it might be hard...sorry about that ^^;;


	13. IMPORTANT PSA, NOT A CHAPTER

**Due to recent events with 4chan on tumblr, I will, until further notice, no longer post anything to my tumblr account unless it's about 'Karkat Are You Doing Okay?'.**

**I am just sick of all this is going on, and it's giving me anxiety. I am also turning off Anon, and sadly, I have to turn my Submit off, so if you have a contest entry, please put it in the 'Karkat, Are You Doing Okay' (exactly that) Tag, and I will find it. You can also message me that you put it in there, and I will get it. **

**IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TUMBLR AND WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY, POST IT SOMEWHERE, AND PM ME THE LINK.**

**This is for my mental health and my well being. Thank you all for understanding**


	14. Can You Go On?

The next day at school, we sat together in the morning before school. I had people coming up to me and telling me I did great last night, causing me to blush. The most surprising visitor, though, was Dave Strider. He walked up to me, hands in his pockets, leaned back nonchalantly.

"Hey. Nepeta. You did good last night. Maybe we could jam sometime." And then he walked away. I don't know why, but I just couldn't help but to laugh. The bell rang, and all the students went to their lockers to put away their stuff and get what they needed.

People kept coming up to me all day. Apparently, someone posted my performance on youtube, and suddenly I was very popular. This didn't help my anxiety, making me feel very nervous every time someone passed my seat. I hated having a lot of strangers talking to me, and the only people I knew were my friends I have had for years, and that's not many people.

By the time I got to lunch, I was about ready to have an anxiety attack. Karkat was already seated there, so I sat as close to him as I could, and tried to hide myself next to him, burying my face in his shoulder.

"Whoa, Nepeta, are you okay?"

"No... so many people...youtube... ugh.."

"What? You aren't making sense- and you're shaking like crazy! Are you okay?"

"Someone posted a video of me on youtube... seems like everyone in school has seen the video... I wanna cry, too many people are talking to me..."

"Oh, Nepeta, shhh... it's okay, come here." He said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer to him on the bench. I trembled a little, and he just held me until Equius got there. He explained what happened, and Equius came over too to help me calm down. When people would come up to us, Equius would politely yet sternly tell them to go away, but Karkat, on the other hand, would yell at them to "piss off you god damn pissant, can't you see she's not in the mood, now go run back to your shitty table for your shitty lunch and stuff your goddamn cakehole instead of bothering her".

Lunch ended, and thanks to Karkat and Equius, I had significantly less visitors all day. It was raining outside, so we couldn't practice color guard outside. We practiced dance inside the gym a while, then we all went home. It was still raining, so Karkat and I shared an umbrella. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me close to him so I didn't get wet. The loud thunderclaps made me squeak, and Karkat just laughed and pulled me closer.

"My girlfriend is such a wimp"

"Am not!" Right after I said that, a loud clap of thunder sounded, and I jumped and squealed. "Dammit..."

"Don't worry, Nepeta, I'll protect you! I have a superpower."

"Do you now?"

"Yes indeed I do!" He said, dropping the umbrella, and leaning down to kiss me in the rain. I giggled softly and kissed back, cupping his face in my hands. It was sweet, until a vile yellow entered my vision. I broke away just as here shrill voice rang out.

"Karkat! Come on, you have chores, and you'll get a cold just standing there! Get in here!" She said, smirking a bit. I felt Karkat tense, then slump his shoulders and sigh.

"I will IM you tonight, okay? I promise. Okay?" He said, smiling softly.

"Okay!" I kissed his cheek and ran into my house, smiling uncontrollably.

I waited a few hours, strumming idly at my ukulele, writing, making doodles that had to do with my synesthesia. I have felt my heart drop, but never have I ever felt the flutter I did wen my computer finally dinged, and Karkat's name appeared. I smiled, and replied, and we talked for hours, about anything and everything. It was around one in the morning when I passed out in front of my laptop, smile gracing my face.

I awoke the next morning to voices downstairs. I sat up, and looked at my clock and gasped. It was almost noon! I got up and rushed to get dressed, and brushed my hair out and my teeth. I went downstairs, and Karkat, his Step-mother, and his father were in the Living room.

"There she is! You were tired, Nep!" My mom said laughing. I cringed inwardly, as all the attention was now on me, and shuffled into the kitchen. I reheated myself some leftovers, and Karkat met me in there, grabbing a cup to get some water.

"What's up? Why is everyone here?"

"Well, apparently, I'm staying here a few days. Since my brother is at that school trip thing, Dad and Kristy decided they could just drop me here and go on a little vacation for themselves." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Aww, that's sweet!"

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, since its the same trip your sister is on, I, apparently, get to stay in her room. Your mom gave me the green light to go check it out earlier, and it, ah, kinda smelled like weed."

"Yeeaahhh... she kinda has been sneaking a few joints. She had one right before se left for the trip, and forgot to air out the room. I'm just waiting for mom to get in there and FINALLY bust her for it."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

We talked for a bit, then the Vantas' had to go back home to pack, and I just lazed around in my room. Karkat came back a few hours later, and, as expected, when mom went to make Meulin's bed, there was quite the commotion. We heard the whole thing from my room, and I don't think we've ever laughed so hard.

After that, we had to eat dinner. We ate and talked for a while, then everyone went to bed. Around midnight, there was a soft knock on my door. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and went to open the door.

"Huh?"

"Hey.. can I come in here? I.. I had a bad dream."

"Sure, come on.." I said. I hugged him, but when I did, his cheeks felt wet. I took his face in my hands and wiped away a few tears with my thumbs, and kissed him gently, and just hugged tight for a moment. I pulled away after a bit, and lead him to my bed, and pulled a blanket over us. I wrapped my arms around him, and sang softly to him along with the music I had playing while I slept. He seemed to calm down after a bit, and soon, we fell fast asleep.

* * *

Sorry if it seems weird towards the end, I wrote this at three in the morning, and to be honest, most of these chapters are fillers sort of while I plan out major plots for a bit. Bear with me, this will get better, I promise!


	15. Kristy Are You Doing Okay

A/N I'm gonna go ahead right now and put a warning on here for implications of self harm. It kinda spoils the chapter, but i wanna stay safe, just in case

* * *

I was running. From what, I couldn't tell, but all I knew was I had to keep running, I had to keep running... something was coming. I hid behind a tree and caught my breath, and climbed up about halfway. A shrill, screeching voice called out to me.

"I know you're up there! I can see your stupid little feet dangling, you good for nothing twerp!"

I gasped and climbed farther up, but my foot suddenly got stuck between two branches. I tried to get it out, but it was stuck really good. A giant hand came up, a hand made of metal with spikes all around, painful to even the slightest touch. It scooped me up with ease, pulling me down and carrying me away. I tried to squirm free, but when I did, her grip grew tighter. She brought me to her lair, a sickly yellow color, and chained me up. She shrank to a normal, human size, and smiled a sickly sweet smile at me. I gulped, and she took her metal hand, and slapped it across my face. I felt the cold trickle of blood run down my face. A loud cackle sounded from her, and she hit me, again and again, slaps to the face, sucker punches to the gut, kicks in the chest. Everything she could throw at me. It all healed up instantly, except it left little cuts and bruises everywhere. She went at it for hours, hitting me, hurting me, until I stopped and begged for her to stop. She cackled, and disappeared. My whole body ached, and I was crying. I hadn't noticed it, but the tears were streaming down my face. The dream dissolved, and my eyes burst open.

I was unsure of where I was for a moment, until I saw her sleeping form in front of me. Nepeta. I sighed in relief, hugging her close to me, though she did not wake. I kissed the top of her head, hoping to any deity that existed her dreams and her life was going better than mine. My arm started to feel wet, and I panicked. _Oh shit_.

I carefully got up and went to the bathroom across the hall. I closed the door and turned on the light and rolled up my sleeve. Sure enough, there was red staining my skin, coming from three little straight lines. _Shit..they've opened up...peroxide, peroxide.. where does she-aha! Under the cabinet, next to the-...not gonna touch or look at those... _he thought as he pulled out the heavy brown bottle.

I didn't even bother getting toilet paper to dab it with I just poured the peroxide right onto the cuts, cringing at the sting and the slight hissing noise it made. I pulled out a box of bandages, and carefully covered the no-clean cuts, and rolled down his sleeve. I replaced everything, turned off the light, and went back to Nepeta's room.

"Karkat? What time is it?" She asked, half asleep, sitting up in the bed.

"I'm here nep. I was just in the bathroom. It's three fifty in the morning, so go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay..." she said, flopping down and passing out once more. I smiled the slightest bit, and climbed into bed next to her, snuggling her close to me, and drifting back into a (hopefully) dreamless sleep.

* * *

A/N As you can see, this chapter is from the point of view of our dear Karkat. It's a shorter chapter, i know, but it is moving the plot along. I did try to be subtle about the cuts thing. And for those of you who are wondering why I had him clean his cuts like that, well, it's because that's how I do it. I dont do it as bad as dear Karkat here, but i have done it and am trying to recover. That scene was also a good little way for me to write out some depression i've been having. I will try not to include anything about it again, though I _may _have one chapter where Nepeta finds out, just to let you know.

To make up for this chapter being pretty dark, how about i make the next chapter a cute, datey one, hmm? To liven it up and make it happier!

I also posted this super early b/c of reasons. _**AND ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, IF YOU SKIP THE AUTHORS NOTE AT LEAST READ THIS**_

_**The cover art contest ends this coming thursday, and i have a few entries, but im still looking for more! Dont be afraid to enter! I have had to close my submission and my anon asks because of whats going on on tumblr. Just, if you have a tumblr, post it in the 'Karkat are you doing okay' tag, and shoot me a message, or post it to any other site and PM me on here with the link! I would love to see any and all entries! **_


	16. A Rose That Wont Bloom

I awoke a little while later to see Karkat sleeping peacefully next to me. I smiled and kissed his nose. I grabbed some clothes, and went to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. I went back into my room, sat down at my desk, and pulled up a few ukulele tabs. I played until Karkat woke up.

"Good morning, sunshine! Sleep well?"

"Morning, Kitty... No, didn't really sleep very well, but what else is new?" He said, getting up and stretching. "I'm gonna go get dressed." He said, getting up and walking to Meulin's room. He stayed in there for a little while, then returned to my room a few minutes later. He sat down on the bed and layed back, sighing.

"What are you sighing about?"

"Eh, I dunno.. Just was thinking about how pretty it is out today. Seems like the perfect time to take a beautiful girl on a date?" He said, looking at me and smiling. I couldn't help but giggle, and get up and go over to lay next to him.

"And who would this beautiful girl be?"

"Oh, you know... She's got the most adorable smile that makes me never wanna stop making her happy so I can always see it. She has really soft hair that's fun to play with, and her eyes are so pretty, they light up when she laughs... You know her, actually. Though, to be honest, you two are nothing alike." He said with a teasing smile. I giggled and blushed and leaned down and kissed him gently. He kissed me back and wrapped his arms around my waist. I laid down next to him, humming softly.

"You really think all that about me..?"

"Of course! Why would I say all that if I didn't mean it?"

"I suppose you wouldn't..."

"That's right! Now..." He scooped me up in his arms and stood up so he was holding me bridal style. "We have a date we should be getting to!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Away!" I said, giggling.

He carried me out the door, and dropped me down at the top of the steps, and we went down together. We walked, hand in hand, to the park. We had written my mom a note telling her where we were gonna be, and we went out. Karkat took me took me to the park, and we walked on the trail, then went to the swings. He pushed me for a bit, then we switched. After a few moments, I slowed his swing, and had him stay there. I sat in his lap, and he pushed us gently with his feet. I smiled at the placid little moment, leaning against him, laying my head on his shoulder. He kissed the side of my head, and I sang softly, enjoying this sweet little moment.

Too soon, we got up, and he took me to lunch. He treated me, though I vowed to pay him back for my half later. Probably would just slip the money back in his wallet later. I really don't like people buying things for me, but he insisted, so I went with it. We had a lot of fun together, and he made me laugh a lot, and he had a lot of really fun stories to tell. He even had a few I hadn't heard.

He walked me back to my house, and then we sat on the couch and watched movies a while, snuggled up in a blanket together. I eventually fell asleep on him, and he just held me, stroking my hair softly. When I woke a while later, my mom was saying dinner would be ready soon. I sat up, and looked at him, smiling a bit.

"Hello..."

"Hey kitty. I have one more thing to do for our date, but we have to wait a while, okay?"

"Okay.. What is it?"

"A surprise."

"God dammit, Karkat..."

"What? It is!" I laughed softly, and my mom called us to dinner. Karkat and I walked in together, and sat across from each other. We all ate together, and we told my mom about our date today, and we all had a good time talking to each other. We finished, and me and Karkat did the dishes, then we sat down on the couch and watched TV for a while.

A few hours after dinner, Karkat got up, and pulled me up with him. He shouted up to my mom and said we were going on a walk and would be back soon. He lead me outside, and we walked down the street, to his house. He unlocked the door, and brought me upstairs. We went into his room, and opened the window, and climbed out. He helped me up, and we went to a little area that was close to the top and laid down on a flat area. I smiled and laid down next to him, smiling a bit.

"Look up at all the stars, Kitty..." he said, waving his hands over the sky, as if showing off the vastness. I smiled and hugged him tight.

"I love star gazing.. You know today has been a wonderful day.. I really love spending time with you.."

"I love spending time with you too." He said, looking at me.

"Well...I love you, Karkat..." I said, blushing a bit and smiling.

"I-.. I love you too, Nepeta.." He replied, smiling wide. I kissed him gently, and he kissed back, wrapping his arms tighter around me. We smiled at each other for a moment, and he sighed contentedly. I looked back up at the sky, and pointed to a constellation.

"Look up there... That's the cancer constellation. And next to it is the Leo constellation." I said, looking at him. He smiled, and squeezed my hand.

"Does that mean that even when we're dead and gone, we'll be together in the stars?"

"I think it does.. I really think it does.." I said, my eyes drifting closed. He kissed my forehead, and I drifted off to sleep, happily in his arms, happily in love.

* * *

A/N Here we go, a fluffy chapter full of date! I hope this is a little happier than yesterday's chapter. I did move the story along a little today, but I probably be more so in the next few chapters. I would also like to remind you all that the Cover Art Contest is open to all, and will be ending this Thursday. Good luck to all who enter!


	17. Winter's Kept You

A few days passed, and I was invited back to the Cafe for another guitar night. Karkat went with me, and he sat right in the center of the front row. We had to wait a while, as things were still being set up, but I was one of the first acts this time around, so I had to be there early. We had just ordered our drinks, and Karkat and I were talking, when none other than David Strider came strolling up to our table, guitar strapped to his back.

"Yo. You been considering a jam sesh with me? I think it'd be pretty cool, bro. You're good. You can even bring Shouty over here if you want." He said, looking at me through his sunglasses.

"Uh yeah. Sure, that'd be cool. Wanna walk home with Karkat and I after school tomorrow?" I offered.

"That's cool. You got a skype?"

"Uh, yeah, here, mine is arsenicCatnip."

"TurntechGodhead. I'll add you when I get home."

"And I just added you!" I said, hitting the contact request button on my phone. I looked up at him and smiled, and he just gave me the slightest nod, and walked off. I looked over at Karkat and he did not look pleased.

"Oh, come on, Grumpy, don't worry about it! You can even listen in, be in the room! It'll be fun!"

"I don't like strider. Something about him.. the way he wears those stupid sunglasses inside all the time, what kind of douche even does that?!"

"Hey, uh, Shouty, I can hear you. I have a condition man. It's for medical reasons I wear these." He said from a few tables over. Karkat blushed and looked down, crossing his arms. I put my hand on his back and kissed his cheek softly.

"Karkat, we're just gonna play a few songs together! Don't worry so much, okay? I love you.."

"I love you too..." He mumbled, still looking down.

"What'd ya say? I couldn't quite hear yoouuu!" I said, giggling.

"I said I love you too.." He said a little louder, smiling a bit this time.

"One more time?" I said, putting my hand to my ear jokingly.

"I said I love you too, my adorable kitty!" He said, wrapping his arms around my waist. I squealed a little and giggled, hugging him tight. He kissed my cheek as they began Guitar Night.

I scooted into his lap, and they announced the first act, That just so happened to be one David Strider. He played a song he wrote, a really strange but sweet love song, and then he played Wonderwall again. That kid has a weird obsession with that song.

Next was a girl named Jade. She looked sweet and cutesy, but then she pulled out this giant ass electric guitar and shredded out a Metallica song. It was really strange in this setting, but earned her a round of applause nonetheless.

Next was me. I got up on stage, and played a song I wrote, a newer one. I watched at Karkat as I sang, which made me feel more confident on the stage. Then I played an acoustic cover of Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz, and the crowd loved it. It was dialed down a bit, the tempo slower, but I made it work, and it sounded really good. I took a little bow, and went off the stage. I sat back down with Karkat, and he gave me a little kiss, smiling at me.

"You did really good out there, Nepeta. I'm so proud!"

"Heh, thanks... keeping my eyes on you helps me a lot, you know?"

"That's really sweet... Thanks.."

"Of course!"

The next day, Dave just walked over and sat with us at lunch. People were talking about it, as he was pretty popular, but he just sat there. He apparently didn't even say anything or move until I got there and sat down. I sat next to him, and my whole group of friends seemed to be in a staring contest with him. He looked over at me and nodded.

"Sup. Figured we could talk about the sweet jams we are gonna bust out after school today. What kind of music do you like?" He asked. It was a simple question, but I probably sat there for about ten minutes trying to figure out what the hell kind of music I liked. Eventually, he just told me it was fine, I didn't have to answer.

"So what can I expect at your house?" We had agreed we would jam at my house today, and Karkat would sit in and listen.

"Well.. My mom is pissed at my sister, because she found out that, while she was on the High School Band Trip, Meulin had been smoking weed in her bedroom with her boyfriend, and she apparently had forgotten about it before she left, and now she is being watched like a hawk. My mom is only being strict with her right now though, she'll get over it in about a month or so. She just is all nervous, what with me going into highschool next year."

"I see."

"And, uh, my sister is deaf, so.. yeah, dont try to talk to her, or get offended when she shouts."

"Damn."

"Yeah. Things will get pretty interesting at my house if you're not used to it, I guess."

"Sounds like it. Well, I gotta run, see you after school, Nep. You too, Shouty." He said, getting up.

Even after he left, my friends stared, and then, when he was gone, they stared at me. I explained the night before, and how we agreed to have a jam session at my house. They all seemed baffled still, but they at least stopped staring. Karkat, thankfully, changed the subject, and we went on to talk about other things.

* * *

A/N Well, I was almost asleep, when my brain decided to suddenly know what the fuck I was gonna write. Knowing me, I honestly probably would have forgotten it in the morning, so now i'm posting this at nearly four in the morning. The things I do for my readers. I remembered someone asking for a jam session of Dave and Nepeta, so that's what I am writing. It's gonna be in two parts, though, and here's part one. This, hopefully, will be the last part until I FINALLY get the story flowing in the way that I want it to. Though, I must say, That does mean that the story will be ending soon.

I would also like to thank everyone who's been reading. I have been tracking the readers per day, and am trying to get more readers every day, and it was going well, but i lost a bunch of readers yesterday for some reason. I will hopefully try to build back up to a rising pace of readers, and for this month, we already have over 2,000 Views! I am SO Proud of you all who have been reading, an i do hope that you will all continue to read and enjoy my story! I need to think of something i could do to thank you all for this. Maybe I could record myself singing Kristy, Are You Doing Okay? while playing on my Ukulele! Tell me what you think in the reviews, or you can suggest something if you like :o

The cover art contest also ends tomorrow! So please enter as soon as you can, as I am already looking at the entries and starting to decide on who to choose for the cover! Thank you to all who enter! And good luck!


	18. Dont Waste Your Whole Life Trying

We waited for Dave outside the front of the school. He came out running, but with a blank face, and hands shoved in his pockets, a few girls chasing him.

"Let's go," He said as he passed us. The hoard of girls were rushing at us, so we started running as well. I ran ahead of Dave, and lead the way to my house. About halfway there, the hoard dissipated, and it was just the three of us.

"Dude, what the fuck was that?" Karkat asked, slightly out of breath. Because of color guard, we had gotten pretty goo at running, thought we did cheat a little by using sashays we learned in color guard to help us move faster.

"Yeah, that was the daily girls that chase me out of the school. They all are begging for dates, but I don't think they understand that I am just not into chicks. They're aesthetically pleasing as hell, but man, I just don't like girls in that way, yo." He said, shrugging.

We continued to walk home, talking about all kinds of things. Karkat was not happy, but as we continued talking, he seemed to get a little more comfortable with Dave. When we got to my house. We said hi to my mom, introduced her to Dave, and the three of us went upstairs. Dave pulled out his guitar, I pulled out my ukulele, and we sat on my bed. Karkat pulled out my desk chair and sat in that, crossing his arms.

Dave began by saying we could just pick a song to warm up, then we could take turns with songs we wrote and adding in our own part. Like, when we play one of my songs, he'll listen to it first, then I play again, and he adds in another melody he thinks sounds good.

So first, we played My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy, which sounds really cool in an acoustic version. Then he taught me Wonderwall. Admittedly, it was really fun to play. I could see why he was so obsessed with the song. Then, we moved on to the the songs we have written.

I played him the one I played the first Guitar night, let him think a moment, and then I played it again. He added in a melody that I thought was really cool, and made the song sound a lot better. When we finished, Karkat nodded in approval. Dave Smirked, and then pulled out his laptop from his bag, and pulled up a tab of his own music.

"This is a newer song I've written. Listen first, then feel free to add whatever you think fits."

"Uh- well, I have never written anything improved, so I might not be very good..." Dave hesitated a moment, and thought for a bit.

"Okay, here's what you need to do." He told me he took me by the shoulders, and looked me in the eyes through his sunglasses. "Clear your mind, of everything you're worried about, everything negative. Positive energy makes this easier. Now, relax your body, and then shake it out. When you hear the music, close your eyes, and feel the music. Music is very fluid, very.. emotional. You have to really feel the music, and it will just come to you. That's how I write my songs. It takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, songwriting becomes super easy, as does improv." He told me. I did as he told as he told me, and I relaxed a little.

Dave began to play, and I closed my eyes, tried to really feel the music. I relaxed myself, opened my mind to the music, and tried to think of a melody that would compliment his. When he finished the song, he looked at me, asking if I was ready. I nodded, and he began playing. I hesitated a moment, then began playing along with his song. It sounded pretty good, I think I did a really good job.

"See? Did that help?"

"Yes, so much, thank you, Dave!" I leaned forward and hugged him. He went rigid a moment, the remembered I was kind of his friend, and hesitantly hugged back.

"Whatever, it was nothing, really." He said, though I saw a slight tint in his cheeks.

"You really did help me though. So thank you." I told him, smiling at him.

As the rest of the jam session went on, I realised he probably didn't have many other friends, if any. He didn't seem like the social type, but when I did things that seemed normal between friends, like tease him, or hug him, he seemed to be uncomfortable or confused. I hoped we could really be good friends, because he seemed like he really needed one.

My mom called us down to dinner, and the three of us went downstairs and sat at the table. We sat down, and began to eat. We introduced my mom to Dave formally, and she smiled and welcomed him to the house.

"So, Dave, do you wanna take off your sunglasses? It must be pretty hard to see with them on." My mom said.

"Oh no, ma'am. Thank you, but I wear these for medical reasons. My eyes are ultra sensitive to light, and these are tinted specially so I can see without straining my eyes." He said, pushing them up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't realised. Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself here. I could hear you guys playing, you two are really good! Maybe you could do a duet for Guitar night next week!" She said, smiling. Dave and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Why not? Sounds fun!" I said, and he just shrugged.

"Sure. Sounds cool." he said.

After dinner, we drove Dave home. We dropped Karkat off at his house, then went home. I was getting ready for bed, when I saw my ukulele, and hesitated. I pulled up youtube, played a few songs, and tried doing that thing Dave taught me. It worked out pretty well, to my surprise. I could learn a lot from that kid.

* * *

A/N I will post the recording of me singing and playing on my ukulele Kristy Are You Doing Okay tomorrow, along with the winners of the cover art contest! I will post them as a separate chapter tomorrow along with the chapter of the day! _**I WILL CONTINUE TO ACCEPT ENTRANTS TO THE CONTEST UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. NO OTHER ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THEN.**_ I will need the winner's skype account so I can talk to you about the story. Until tomorrow, my Dear Readers!


	19. Cover Art Contest Winners!

Hello, all! It is time to announce the winners of the cover art contest! I will announce in reverse order, from Third to First. Then I will do Honourable mentions. Thank You to all who entered, and congratulations do all who won! A link will be posted at the bottom to a post on tumblr with the winners of the contest for those of you who would like to see! This will also serve as the chapter of the day, because I am too busy to write up another chapter, I'm sorry!

_**THIRD PLACE: **_ninten-dogs!

I am going to be honest with you. I absolutely LOVE your entry. Its so adorable, and it looks just like what I imagined! Karkat looks just like I imagined, and you portrayed the scene exactly how it played out in my head.

That being said, The only reason I am awarding this third place, is it just doesn't feel like an accurate cover. It only covers the one scene, and out of context, doesn't make much sense. I love it in every way, but it's just not what my first choice as cover is.

As I said, here are your prizes that you will be awarded:

You will be the Cover Art **IF**for some reason Second and First do not want it.

I will add you on skype and you can proofread the next chapter

I will write you a ficlet, one-shot, any ship, any fandom, any characters! ** T**

Send me your skype, and I will contact you soon to redeem your prizes! Thank you for entering, and congratulations on getting Third!

_**SECOND PLACE: **_alltheglubs!

I love your piece so, so much. Its so adorable, and is so cute! She looks exactly like my headcanon Nepeta! I can tell you looked very hard on it, and I just absolutely love it. I was surprised when you told me it was drawn on paper, because it looks like it was drawn on the laptop!

As I said, here are the prizes that you will be awarded:

You will be the cover art **IF **for some reason, first place does not want it.

I will add you on Skype, and you can proofread the next two chapters.

I will write you a fic, any characters, any fandom, any ship! ** T**

Send me your skype, and I will contact you soon to redeem your prizes! Thank you for entering, and congratulations on getting Second!

_**FIRST PLACE: **_sixcon!

This piece is so perfect! Its simple, its cute, and I love it. I love how you have the song in the background, and the look on Nepeta's face is perfect for the story, because over all, this is going to be a sad story, and her face seems to be pretty troubled and unhappy. I absolutely love this, and I think it's perfect for a cover for the story.

As I said, here are the prizes you will be awarded:

Will be the cover art for Karkat, Are you Doing Okay

I will add you on Skype, and you can proof-read the next three chapters

I will discuss what I want the ending to be, and you can give me feedback and your reaction!

I will write a fic for you, any ship, any fandom, any characters! ** T**

Send me your skype, and I will contact you soon to redeem your prizes! Thank you for entering, and congratulations on getting First!

_**HONOURABLE MENTIONS:**_

_**gamzee-makaraoni**_

You did really well on your piece! I loved it so much. I love that you included the notebook, and little music notes, and even the head of the ukulele. It looks amazing! I'm sorry yours did not make it into the top three, it was a very hard decision to make, I hope you understand.

_**frenchtoast-mafia**_

I though your piece was great. It had both their signs, and the quadrants. It was simple, yet it still kind of tells a lot. The only reason I didn't choose this, was because it is more for a story about the trolls, and this is more of a humanstuck story. Other than that, this was great, and I loved it!

For the honourable mentions, I will write you a fic, any characters, any fandom, any ship! ** T. **

**Thank you to all who entered! Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

post/91469923700/here-are-the-winners-from-the-cover-art-contest


	20. My apolodies

i am so, so, so sorry for not updating yesterday. I had made plans that lasted all day, and i had no time to write. This will be the only update today and maybe tomorrow because i feel like shit and i am sick. I will try to post tomorrow, but dont get your hope up, because i feel like utter shit. I will upload again once i start to feel better though, i promise!


	21. To Get Back

**A week passed, and it was guitar night again. Dave and I had been working on a song all week, and I have to say, it was pretty sweet. Me, Dave, and Karkat sat at a table together, and we waited during the other acts. Karkat held my hand under the table the whole time until our show, which made me less nervous. No matter how many shows I did, I was always super nervous, but one thing I loved about Karkat was that he was always there for me. Dave bought us coffees from the shop, and we all went around telling stories to each other while they set up the guitar night and all. **

**"****Okay, one, my sister, before she came out, was in her room with her 'friend', and my Bro walked in, and found them making out. Then he went on got our mom, and she just laughed and Kanaya wouldn't come over for like two months." he said.**

**"****What did your dad do?" I asked.**

**"****Oh, I don't exactly have a dad. My Bro adopted me when I was a little tiny nugglet, and then he found LaLonde, and they got married, then Rose became my sister so yeah."**

**"****Did you just refer to your baby self as a nugglet?"**

**"****Hell yeah I did." He said with a straight face. I have come to realize, over the past week, that Dave is nowhere near a coolkid, but I huge-ass nerd. **

**"****Damn son. Well, did you know, when Nepeta and I were in like, third grade, we were at my house, and we had just gotten a dog, and Nepeta didn't know, and we fell asleep watching a movie, and woke up to a puppy licking er face, and she screamed and fell over. It was seriously so funny!" Karkat said. **

**"****Oh, really now? Well, what about the time you laughed so hard, you squirted water out of your nose, and were more comfortable admitting that it was pee?" I said with a condescending smirk. He sighed and help his hands up in surrender. **

**"****Damn, you got me.." He said, laughing. The lights dimmed a bit, and we got quiet while they announced the acts. **

**Dave and I went on about halfway through the show. We played Little Talks by Monsters and Men. When Dave sang, I played ukulele, and vice versa with him and his guitar. When we both sang, we played together. It was a hit, everyone loved it. We played one more song, and then we left the stage. We sat back down with Karkat, and Karkat gave me a kiss. **

**"****Babe, that was amazing! You did pretty awesome too, Strider."**

**"****What, no kiss for the Strider? Rude" He said, crossing is arms, but with the slightest smirk. I laughed and Karkat just frowned. **

**We stayed at the cafe for a bit, then Karkat's dad drove us all home. Me and Karkat hung out at his house for a bit (Read: Made out until we heard Kankri come home), We sat in his room and watched movies, and kissed a little. **

**At one point, about halfway into the movie, we were getting really into kissing. He started moving his hands in...places... where I started to feel a little uncomfortable. He suddenly started lifting my shirt, and I squirmed a little uncomfortably. He stopped, pulled away and looked at me. I just felt my cheeks and neck heat up and I shook my head. He nodded and let go of my shirt, and hugged me to his chest, and we finished the movie. Karkat walked me back home, and he stopped me outside my house. He put his hands on my shoulders, and looked at me.**

**"****Hey, Nep.. about earlier.." He said quietly. I blushed and looked down, but he put his hand under my chin, and tilted it up so I would look at him. "Hey.. if you're not ready, we're not ready. I would never force myself on you, and I value your comfort and safety. Don't ever be afraid to say no, okay?" I blushed bright, and I just felt very overwhelmed. I hugged him tight, and pressed my face into his chest. **

**"****You have no idea how much that means to me, Karkat... I love you.."**

**"****I love you too, Nepeta... I love you so much, and don't ever forget it." He said, He rubbed my back, and kissed the top of my head, hugging me tight. And to be honest, I've never felt safer with one person than I did right there with Karkat. **

**He walked me inside, and kissed me at the door, then he left. I went upstairs, and laid down on my bed. I smiled and grabbed a pillow and just pressed it to my face. I couldn't get over how there was just so much to love about him. I got up, grabbed my notebook, and just poured out a whole song in about an hour. I closed my journal, turned off my light, and crawled into bed.**

* * *

**My deepest apologies for not updating. I have been sick, and I still kind of am, but I managed to write this over the past few days. I will try to update each day until next Sunday, but starting next Monday, I have band camp, which is eight hours a day for two weeks. It's two weeks long, but i have weekends off, so the last few chapters will be uploaded every week. It's unavoidable, and I have about ten chapters left to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I will ****_try _****to upload tomorrow, but I feel very sick, and to be honest, it's noot a very high chance I'll be able to, forgive me, please. Thank you. 3**

**I love you all, and thank you for reading, and staying with me. I love you all, don't ever forget it, my darling readers!**


	22. What Was Taken Away

I woke up early that morning. I opened my closet, and pushed everything back to get the special bag I used only for days like this. I pulled it out, then got dressed. I had my beanie, my coat, and my flats on with a t-shirt and jeans. I went to the bathroom and brushed my hair and teeth, and I even put on a little bit of make up. I didn't like wearing it often, but today was special. I went back into my room, and stuck my notebook, some money, a few pencils, and the little case sitting on top of my dresser in it. I glanced at the clock- 5:30, and grabbed my ukulele. I went downstairs and made myself some toast. I ate, wrote mom a note, and set out by 6:00, when the world had a soft grey glow.

I walked down the street, and turned down, and walked into the nearby town. There was a flower store a few blocks away that was open 24/7. I walked in, greeted the clerk, and got the usual order of Poppies. He handed them over, and I paid for them. I went to the coffee shop next door, bought the usual coffee with two creams and three sugars, and a slice of fresh made banana nut bread.

"Hey Nep! You doing the usual today?" John asked, nodding to my flowers.

"Yeah, today felt like a good day." I said, smiling. I took my precious coffee and bread, tipped john, and walked out.

I went back the direction I came, towards a lesser traveled part of town. The one place most people would hate to go to, or some people go to for a thrill. It was a place full of negative energy, and sadness, but I still went every so often. It was a form of therapy, a way I can vent my problems out without feeling judged. I opened the gates, and walked in. It was misty, though that was to be expected. Wasn't it always like that? I walked down the worn path, stepping over bits of grass, and followed my way to the spot I now knew by heart. I sat down in front of it, sighing a bit, setting down my cup and putting my bag beside me.

"Hey dad... I'm back. I brought you poppies again. Tavros at the flower shop in town. It used to be run by his older brother, Ruphio. I think you remember him?Mom said that's where you guys always got flowers.. for your wedding, your going away party... your funeral.." I said, looking down at my hands. I sighed, and smiled a bit. "But yeah, he was pretty nice.. it's where I've been getting your flowers for the past few years when I've been visiting.

"So here's how this goes.. I recap everything from the beginning of how this started.. in case you didn't get to hear.. then, I tell you what's new, and maybe vent to you, and then we sit in silence. So... here goes. When I was in kindergarten, I had severe anxiety. I never really got over it, and in about third grade, I got depressed, which also never really went away. In the Sixth grade, I went to a therapist, and they told me I should find something to talk to, that wouldn't talk back, so I dont feel judged. So, I told her about you, and she said it was perfect. That's when I started coming to you. Once every few months or so at first, then in the middle of seventh grade, closer to each week. I just... find you very easy to talk to.

"This year, me and my friends are in eight grade. My best friend, now boyfriend, Karkat Vantas, and my best friend, Equius are all together and we are close friends. I have been going to guitar nights, and I have been asked to be a permanent act. I made a new friend, Dave, and he's cool. He taught me a lot about music. Mom said you were really into music when you were alive, and the other night, she said she saw a lot of you in him. I thought about it, and then, when I looked at him again, I though about pictures of you. I actually have a few pictures of you , and of Dave, and... I know this is weird, but... sometimes, when he's teaching me about music, I close my eyes, and pretend it's you. I told mom, and she laughed, and she smiled. I.. I think she did the same to be honest.

"You are also a lot like Karkat in some ways... He's so wonderful, and sweet, and kind... he's protective of the ones he loves.." I smiled, and pulled out pictures of all my friends, and put them at the base of his gravestone. I took the little case out of my bag, and opened it. I looked at it, and smiled a bit. It had a few pictures of him holding me before he went off to war. I also had his ID, his medal of honour, and just some small things that belonged to him. I sniffed a bit, and looked back at the front of the stone. "Mom said that, before you left on your last mission, you had a goal to get back, and stay a while and help raise me. Then, she got the call that you had died, saving half your platoon, and you died a hero... My mom said she was just glad that you died a hero... that your life meant something. She was always thankful for that, and it's what kept her going. She said that at night, when she couldn't sleep, she felt your host, holding her in your arms, and helping her fall asleep... I want a relationship like you two had. When I see pictures of you two, I see happiness...love, every time I see you. You two were together for six years before you married, then were married for two, then I came along, and he knew me until I was six months... and then... yeah. But you two... when mom tells me what you two were like, I just can't stop thinking of how much I love Karkat, and how much I want a love like you two have...had." I wiped my eyes, and laughed slightly. "I don't know why I'm crying... I never knew you but... I guess... doing this.. makes me feel closer to you."

* * *

So this chapter is a two parter. I realise i wrote nepeta's dad being dead her whole life, but i still wanted her to have this connection. If it isn't clear, yes, i did mean for her to be in the 8th grade. I know this chapter is kinda sad, but that's good, as it will be setting the mood for the rest of the story, because this is was meant to be a sad story. I always think, to be honest, the saddest stories aren't sad the whole time, because learning from experience, just because you ARE sad, doesn't mean you cant have your happy days, your happy moments. That's how i feel, and i hope that, to this point, i have refelcted that in this story.

I'm still sick, and today, i thought i was better, but then i got very dizzy and nearly passed out, so i've been in bed all day. It's very bad dizziness, and i cant even turn over too quickly without getting dizzy again. I will try to write today, but i dont know if i can. I will try, because i love you all and i feel bad when i don't update, so i do try to get some done each day, but it just doesnt always work out sometimes.

Again, band camp starts next monday, and i cannot miss it, so i will be changing updates to once a week, but it shouldn't be too long until the story is done. I have ten more chapters left of the story i want to tell, then it's over, so i will have four more daily updates, then six weekly updates. I am starting school August 7th, and i am starting my freshman year, so i will be pretty busy.

I also need the winners of the cover art contest to contact me and tell me what ship and all they want for the fic they get for winning.

I think that's all, but just typing out this author's note, i have become very tired, so i need to rest. if i forgot anything, i'll let you know tomorrow, hopefully. Until next time!


	23. Though the Marks on Your Dress

**Sometimes, on these visits to my dad, I always though I could feel his presence. Like, he was sitting next to me, or near me, listening. I think he likes the visits, the company I provide. I'm sure he always listens to me, at least, I hope so. **

**"****I brought my ukulele, and my notebook with some songs in it... wanna hear?" I asked. I waited a moment, then pulled out my ukulele. **

**I played some songs to him for a while, though, when I did, I began to feel like I was being watched. There was no one around, though I had a strange feeling that other spirits were coming to listen. I just played for a while, playing until my voice was numb and my fingers were bleeding. I played a few songs I wrote, a few from guitar night, and a few I just really liked. When I put my ukulele away, I pulled out the pencils and my notebook, and I sat the notebook in my lap. **

**"****I'm gonna just write a bit while I keep talking to you, okay? What should I talk about... hmm... Well, I could tell you more about Karkat! I never told you how we got together... Well, he came to school with a black eye once, and I went to Kanaya to cover it up, but we had to do it in the girl's room. To avoid suspicion as to why he was in there, they told us we should make out a little, as a bunch of kids did that and got away with it. So we did, and then that afternoon, he asked if we could again, and we just kinda got together! We never actually told any of our friends, but they kinda figured it out, accepted it, and never really mentioned it. It's not like it's a big change or anything, it's just now we're together!**

**"****You know...come to think of it, I never really questioned why he had a black eye...He said he was mugged on the way to school, but black eyes don't form that quickly, do they? You know what, I'm probably over thinking it. Though, he has been acting increasingly secretive and secluded about is home life since Kristy moved in...but maybe it's just because she's kinda freaky? I mean, her aura is so vile, I can't look at her for too long... should that be a sign? And the bruise on his side... and the yell, and the slapping sound... the blood on the bathroom floor and my blankets from the time he spent over... Oh my god.. Dad, it's always nice talking to you, and really, I'd love to stay, but something is very wrong, I have to go.. I love you, dad." I said, packing my stuff up as quickly as I could. I slung my bag and ukulele over my shoulder, grabbed my trash, and raced out of the graveyard, tossing my trash in the garbage can, heart racing. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't feel my legs, but it's like they were on autopilot and racing me home. **

**I didn't even think as I ran, I just knew that A: this was the fastest I had ever run. B: I wasn't thinking, but I was on the way home on autopilot, even avoiding obstacles. C: Something was very wrong in Karkat's home, and if I don't make sure he's okay, I could be too late. **

**I got home, and I ran upstairs, and I got my phone and looked at it. I never took my phone to the graveyard, in case it interfered with my venting getting constant messages. I Pulled up our conversation from the night before, just us being all cute and saying goodnight. I took a deep breath and typed out a message. **

**-Hey, everything okay..? **

**-Sorry if it's weird, I just,,, I have a really bad feeling right now, and its kinda freaking me out...**

**-I love you...**

**I took another deep breath, and put my phone down. I went to take a shower, and got changed for the day. I looked at my phone, and he still hadn't replied. I guess that was okay, it was 8:30 in the morning...**

**I went downstairs, and Mr. Vantas was in my living room. Just him. I got confused, and my gut twisted. My mom looked like she was crying, which made my stomach twist even more. **

**"****Nepeta... sit down, this...this won't be easy.." Mr. Vantas choked out, obviously trying not to cry. Oh. Shit. **

* * *

**Well, I am feeling a little better today, so i decided to upload. However, today is the first of now weekly updates, as bandcamp starts tomorrow, and i will be soooo busy. I hope you all enjoy, but i have to warn you, i dont think there are many more really happy moments left in the story for a few chapters. Just to keep you prepared. Hope you enjoy, and see you next week! **


	24. Had Been Neatly Repressed

**My eyes opened slowly to the rhythmic beep...beep...beep.. of my heartbeat. I look around to see that I am alone. I try to move, but my whole body hurts. I lift my arm, it's in a cast. My other arm has bandages wrapped around the wrist and forearm. I can't even move one leg, and I see a lot of red among the bandages. A nurse comes in wearing pink scrubs and white keds, carrying a clip board, and fresh bandages. **

**"****Oh, hello. I see you're awake. I'm going to change your bandages, then I have to check your mental status." He informed me, carefully changing the bandages on my head. They look red and stick, a sight that makes me want to be sick. I want to wonder what happened, but I already know the answer to that. ****_Kristy._**** When the nurse had changed all the bandages he could, he began the 'mental status check', and a few other tests. He moved his finger in front of my face, and told me to follow it with my eyes. **

**"****What day is it?"**

**"****Saturday."**

**"****Your name?"**

**"****Karkat Vantas."**

**"****three plus four?"**

**"****Seven.." I said, groaning a bit. It was starting to hurt when I spoke. **

**"****Good, your mental status seems fine. I'm going to alert your doctor, and your family should be here soon." He informed me. I began to wonder why at least Kristy wasn't here with me. I figured dad was at the Leijon's, informing them where I was. I looked out the window that was next to my bed, and saw Kristy with handcuffs, talking to a police officer. I smirked, and looked back ahead of me. ****_Well, at least that bitch is getting what she deserves._**** I thought to myself. I closed my eyes, and I started to drift off to sleep. I was so tired.. so..tired.. **

**I was in my bathroom, relapsing again, and hating myself for it. I had the water running. Dad was supposed to be home late, just like always, so I was alone with Kristy in the house. I heard a glass shatter downstairs, and I froze. ****_Oh. Shit. She's drunk again... _****I swallowed, and put my razor away, and cleaned up my wrist as I heard a shrill shriek of my name being called from downstairs. I covered my arms, and carefully made my way downstairs, hoping she just was hungry, and wanted me to make her some food. **

**"****Karkat... what are you even doing up in that bathroom?" She slurred drunkenly. **

**"****I... I was gonna take a bath-"**

**"****BULLSHIT. You're nott even wet." She giggled. She took a deep breath and looked around. "Where's you're brother?"**

**"****O-on a date..." **

**"****So... just you tonight? Yoou know.. the other night,, I saw you... and..what's her name.. making out.. and you, you were getting ****_fris-kay_****" She giggled, then got serious. "I do NOT...tolerate that behavior in this house... unless it's your kinky, kinky daddy... I think you need a lil lesson on why you don't act that way.." She said, frowning. **

**"****No, Kristy, I SWEAR, we didn't, she was uncomfortable, and asked me to stop, and I did-"**

**"****DO NOT TALK BACK TO ME!" She yelled, tossing her bottle at me. I ducked, but it clipped me on the left side of my head. I fell to the ground, and she got off the couch, and kicked me in the gut. I coughed a few times, and she kicked me again. I got up, stumbled a bit, and held my gut. I was gonna be sick soon, those blows were ****_hard._**

**"****Now.. You.. are too young.. to be having.. ****_sex_****...especially with ****_her. _****She's not even...pretty, or.. appealing in the least. If you wanna do it... at least pick an easy one." She slurred. I growled a bit in defense, but couldn't muster any more than that. She walked over to me and got in my face, causing me to choke on the smell of alcohol. **

**"****I bet if you DID do it, you would have been stupid about it... because you are stupid... Speaking of which, I got your report card today. How the fuck do you get a FUCKING C in math, huh? You had an A last semester." She said. She struck me across the face, and I stumbled back, stepping weird on my leg, and falling down. She grabbed another empty bottle off the table, and was prepared to strike me with it, but suddenly, the front door opened, and my dad walked in. **

**"****Kristy, I'm ho-... Kristy.. how.. wha-.." The look of astonishment, fear, and sadness on his face was the worst part of it all. I leaned over, and spit up a little bit of blood from the kick, and My dad just stood, trembling in his place. He pulled out his phone, and called the police, while Kristy begged him to stop. I slumped over, and I remembered him asking for an ambulance as well, then racing over to me, and hugging me tight. I was unconscious after that, And then I woke up in the hospital. **

**I awoke again, but I didn't open my eyes right away. My face felt wet, and I realised I had been crying as I was asleep. I felt something in my hand. I looked over, and Nepeta had her head down, as if she were praying, which was strange, as she never was religious. She had her hand in mine, and I just gently squeezed it. She suddenly looked up, her eyes red, her cheeks wet with strands of hair sticking to it with tears. She gasped, and sort of lunged forward and hugged me, burying her face in my chest. She sobbed, and just held me. **

**"****Oh, god, Karkat, I thought you...you.." She just sobbed again and held me tight. I lifted my arms, and placed them around her, and just hugged her gently, and all I could think of, was how happy I was she was here, and how sad I was to have to have her see me like this, to find out like this. **

**"****Nepeta..." I said, just hugging her and closing my eyes. **


	25. I Knew that Something was Wrong

**I went downstairs, and Mr. Vantas was in my living room. Just him. I got confused, and my gut twisted. My mom looked like she was crying, which made my stomach twist even more. **

**"****Nepeta... sit down, this...this won't be easy.." Mr. Vantas choked out, obviously trying not to cry. **

**I sat down on the couch between Mr. Vantas and my mother, stomach fluttering nervously. My mom was crying as well, and I had no idea what was happening. **

**"****Nepeta... I came home from work early last night to surprise my wife and Karkat. When I walked in, Kristy was drunk..very drunk..and...she was beating Karkat up. He was on the ground, almost unconscious, and she was about to hit him with a bottle. I called the police and an ambulance for Karkat, but he was already unconscious, bleeding, and spitting up blood." He explained, trying hard not to burst out crying again. Tears slid down my cheeks, and I suddenly felt really lightheaded. Black spots clouded my vision, and I faintly felt like I was falling, and then it was just black.**

**I opened my eyes a few moments later, and both my mom and Mr. Vantas were looking over me. I sat up, and held my head, confused as to what was happening. I saw Mr. Vantas crying face, and I instantly remembered, and I just burst out crying. I wiped my eyes and tried to hold it back, but the tears would not stop.**

**"****I-is he gonna be o-okay?" I asked, looking at him.**

**"****We don't know.. he's unconscious at the hospital right now, we have to wait until he wakes up." He said grimly. I nodded, and covered my moth with my hand. I cried a bit more, and my mom rubbed my back. I hugged Mr. Vantas, and my mom hugged me tight. We all three just sat there, hugging and crying. **

**After a while, we all decided to go visit him in the hospital. We all got in my mom's car, and Mr. Vantas drove us to the hospital. When we got in there, we saw Kristy handcuffed to a chair. My mom and Mr. Vantas went over to talk to them, and I went to a nurse to find Karkat's room. **

**"****Hello, can I help you?" She asked Cheerfully. **

**"****Which room is Karkat Vantas in?" I asked, and her face fell. **

**"****Are you a family member?" She asked. **

**"****I'm his girlfriend."**

**"****Oh, well...right this way" She said, leading me to his room. I walked in, and there were so many wires attached to him, and bandages and casts all over him. I grabbed the nurse's arm as she was about to leave so I wouldn't fall over. **

**"****You need something, dear?"**

**"****N-no.. just trying to steady myself.."**

**"****Dear, come sit in the chair next to him if you feel like you're gonna faint..." She said, sitting me in a chair, then scooting it to his side. I murmured a thank you, and I looked at him. **

**"****Karkat..." I said softly, tears sliding down my cheeks. I kissed his cheek and took his hand in mine. I held his hand, and laid my head down on the bed, just hoping he would wake up soon. **

**"****I'm sorry I didn't get it sooner... I should have pieced it together sooner, but I didn't want to believe it, and now you're- … just, please, wake up soon and be okay... " I whispered to him, the tears streaming faster and faster. **

**I sat there for a while, just holding his hand and silently pleading for him to be okay as I cried by his side. A few moments later, however, I suddenly felt his hand squeeze mine. I looked up, though I knew I looked like a mess, and stared at him for a second before lunging forward and hugging him, pressing my face into his chest. **

**"****Oh, god, Karkat, I thought you...you.." I said, but couldn't finish. I just felt more tears fall, though they were a mix of relief and sadness. He slowly lifted his arms and placed them around me, pressing his face into my hair. **

**"****Nepeta..." He murmured. I hugged him tighter, then crawled up next to him on the bed. He scooted over and made a little room, and I just wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face into his neck.**

**"****Karkat... I love you.. I'm so sorry this happened, Karkat..." I whispered, but he just shushed me. **

**"****Don't apologise, it's not your fault." He said weakly. **

**"****Doesn't stop me from being sorry.." I said, looking at him.**

**He just wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead softly. I closed my eyes, and let out a soft yawn. He laughed slightly and looked at me. **

**"****You tired?"**

**"****A little..Today has been an emotionally draining day, and I got up really early... can I just fall asleep with you?"**

**"****Of course.. thank you for being here, but I'm sorry you had to see me like this.."**

**"****I'm sorry it happened.. this never should have happened.." I murmured, starting to drift off. He didn't say anything, he just held me until I fell into a blank, dreamless sleep. **

* * *

I'm back! Sorry this is late, band camp ended on Friday, School starts tomorrow, and I have had so much to do in between, I just havent had time. I will try to upload every Sunday, starting next Sunday, but don't be _too _expectant on it. This is my freshman year, and I just might not have the time to get it written by Sunday. However, my birthday happens to be this Sunday, so I may give a gift you all and write another chapter by then! I hop you enjoyed this chapter, and know that Kristy will get her justice!


	26. I Should Have Spoke Out,I'm So Sorry Now

**I woke up next to him still, and he was awake, talking to his father. There was also a police man in the room, and he was talking to Karkat about Kristy. He was gripping my hand tight, and trembling as he recounted. I pretended to be asleep until the police man left with Mr. Vantas to get further information. I hugged Karkat tight, wishing I could do something to help. He just held me close to his side. **

**"****..Do you mind me asking about it yet..?" I asked looking at him. He took a deep breath. **

**"****You can ask certain things, but... I just...I dunno..." He said awkwardly. I nodded and rubbed his shoulder. I looked at his wrists that were wrapped in bandages. I ran my finger gently over the bandage, and looked at him. **

**"****She didn't cause those, did she?"**

**"****No..." I took a deep breath and nodded, though I couldn't help but feel a little bothered. Why did he have to resort to this, without coming to talk to me..? I mean, when he found out his friend, Gamzee, had been taking drugs because otherwise he was a danger to himself and others, he cried his eyes out. He came to me, and he cried, and cried, and cried. He said he never wanted to see anyone destroy their body, and he vowed he wouldn't do that... that was back in the 6****th**** grade.. what changed? I ran my finger up and down the bandage, not looking him in the eye.**

**"****Why didn't you say anything?" **

**"****I.. Well, I always gave her a reason... bad grades, making too much noise, speaking out of turn... I just never did anything right, and she was correcting me.." He said quietly. **

**"****But she hurt you... how did you not realise..?" **

**"****Well, I mean, I guess I just never noticed..."**

**"****How do you not notice?" I ask, sitting up. I was angry, because she was hurting him, and he let it happen, he did nothing to stop it. I was sad because of the same reason. I've never felt this rush of emotions I did now. I couldn't believe him. He just turned his head, and neither of us said anything for a moment. **

**Soon after that, my mom walked in, and told me visiting hours were over. I nodded, and leaned down to hug him, but he didn't react. I walked out, and stayed quiet the entire ride home. I went straight up to my room, and I cried all over again. I pulled out my phone and I texted Equius. **

**-Equius... have you heard...?- I sent. He didn't reply for a few minutes. **

**-I did. I express my deepest sorrows, Nepeta.-**

**-I saw him today...I asked him about it, and he... he just let it happen to him... he said it was no big deal, and he probably deserved it... I tried to tell him that, but he didn't say anything...its frustrating..- **

**-Well, you probably upset him, Nepeta... he's been through a lot, and the way you see the abuse is in no way the way he saw it.-**

**-*I* upset HIM?! Equius, how do you think I am feeling right now, he literally told me he thinks it was okay to get hit all the time!-**

**He sent me another message after that, but I didn't bother reading it. I was so mad. How could he take Karkat's side? It hurt, it really did. I laid back, and closed my eyes, and just fell asleep. Today was so emotionally draining, I just had to sleep. I wanted to sleep for a long time. Maybe I would wake up and none of this would be real. Maybe it would be a dream. Hopefully. **

**I CAN EXPLAIN WHERE I HAVE BEEN okay so ha ha funny story um its called Color guard and practice went from being until 5:00 most days to about 6:15 EVERY day, and competitions on Saturdays and im just so busy ;-; But i got this written!**

**I wanna say nepeta's side is one i think would be common in people finding out a loved one has been abused. I mean, not a lot of people understand how someone thinks they deserve this. I'm trying to show multiple sides to how it can be seen, i hope that makes sense? i dunno**

**Next chapter,,, idk when it will be up, i've kind of lost interest in this story, sorry.. I have a few other ideas for other stories though! maybe they'll end up on here /shrugs **

**Hope you enjoy, sorry its so short!**


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